


The world is cruel, but we don't have to be

by Hipster71elmWeebtrash



Series: I look up at the gaps of sunlight, I miss you more than anything [1]
Category: Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Hinata Hajime, F/F, Fluff, Gen, Heterochromia, Hinata Hajime and Kamukura Izuru Are Siblings, Hinata Hajime and Kamukura Izuru are Separate People, Human Experimentation, Hurt/Comfort, Kamukura Izuru Has Feelings, Kamukura Izuru Is Bad At Feelings, Kamukura Izuru Project | Hope Cultivation Plan, M/M, No Incest, Nonbinary Kamukura Izuru, Not Canon Compliant, Pre-Slash, Self-Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, Tired Hinata Hajime, cringy jokes, he/him and they/them pronouns for kamukura izuru, hinata hajime has self-worth issues, izuru is a clone, kuzuryu natsumi is in a coma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:48:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 28,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29473482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hipster71elmWeebtrash/pseuds/Hipster71elmWeebtrash
Summary: The words resonated in his head, never quite leaving him.‘’Hope cultivation project’’‘’Once in a lifetime opportunity’’‘’We can give you a talent.’’Although he’d like to say he immediately refused the offer, he considered it for an embarrassingly long time. Because as much as he’d like to believe chiaki when she says that talents aren’t everything and that he’s better off without one, it just feels like a complete lie. Especially when he knows that if he had a talent, he’d be an ultimate, and as an ultimate, he wouldn’t be worrying about having enough money to stay at hope’s peak, he would have been able to protect natsumi and he wouldn’t be scared for his life. He’d be praise worthy. He would be worth something. If he had a talent…he’d be happy.
Relationships: Hinata Hajime & Kamukura Izuru, Hinata Hajime & Kuzuryu Natsumi, Hinata Hajime & Nanami Chiaki, Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito, Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko & Kuzuryu Natsumi, Mioda Ibuki/Tsumiki Mikan, Nanami Chiaki & Komaeda Nagito, kamukura izuru & mioda ibuki
Series: I look up at the gaps of sunlight, I miss you more than anything [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2202939
Comments: 131
Kudos: 132





	1. chap. 0

**Author's Note:**

> hi, this is my first fic so don't expect the best quality. That being said, i'm really proud of this.  
> I wrote this for fun, this is pure self indulgence. So comment whatever, praise me or critize me, it doesn't matter, just don't get upset when it isn't canon compliant and i get some things wrong. I hope that at least one person enjoys this as much as i do.
> 
> ps. I've only played the first and second game.

Hajime Hinata had always been disturbingly aware of his place at hope’s peak academy. In fact, he made a conscious effort to ignore his observations, if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to handle it. His abysmally low self-worth would no doubt crumble under the weight of all that stress. So, when students with better uniforms scoffed, jeered and spit in his direction, he told himself it wasn’t because he was a reserve course student. When teachers buried him in work, berated him for anything below 100% and brushed aside all his requests for help, he told himself that it wasn’t because he was deemed not worth the effort. When classmates would go missing abruptly, all traces of them gone and every concern was waived off by staff, as if it was just a trivial matter. When missing students would be found, sometimes stuffed in a garbage bag behind the main building or curled up in a nearby alley, their pale and lifeless bodies gone almost as soon as they were found. That is, if they were found at all. When all mention of the missing students became absolute taboo among the reserve course, for mentioning it at all could almost guarantee you’d follow suit. He told himself it wasn’t because they were reserve course students, that it wasn’t because they were worth any less. That it wasn’t because people viewed them as the scum on their shoes. He knew it was a lie. But he used to think he could at least offer himself this small mercy.

But then, natsumi was attacked. Someone had hit her over the head with a vase, putting her in a coma she would most likely never wake from. The culprit still hadn’t been found even though she nearly died. He could already imagine exactly what would have happened if she had died. Despite it clearly having been a murder, it would be labeled an accident. Just like her attacker, the murderer would no doubt be some asshole ultimate that would never face any consequences. The funeral would be unbearable, worse than standing at her bedside in the hospital, the only familiar face would be her brother and his baby face, that is, if he was even allowed to attend. That scenario is ironically very similar to the current one. The culprit is never brought to justice thanks to the conveniently missing security tapes, the local authorities disregard it as a tragic accident despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary and the victim never sees the light of day ever again.

He had thought that hope’s peak academy was to be a new beginning. The beginning of a happy life, one of excitement, prosperity and joy. And it had been for a while, or at least he likes to remember it that way, he had two friends that not only tolerated his talentless-ness but actively hung out with him regardless. He had decently passing grades and a hunger to succeed. Although it doesn’t seem like all that much, it was at least better than his current situation.

And so, he sat in his messy bed, curled up in himself and trying not to fall apart. Lately, everything seemed to crumble around him, leaving him an, anxious, nervous wreck. First of all, and somehow the least concerning, His mother had cut him off. They didn’t have the best relationship, neither good or bad, it could be argued that they didn’t have a relationship at all. Since childhood, she barely seemed to consider him her son and he had never considered her his mother, they just lived in the same house and never had any meaningful interaction. So, when he moved out to pursue an education, she paid the monthly payments and they never discussed it further. But now, he wouldn’t be able to afford to stay at hope’s peak much longer. What would he do when that day came? Most likely rent an apartment and try to survive on a salary from any job that would accept him without a high school diploma. That is, if he managed to survive to that day. Which brings him to his other dilemma, natsumi’s name has disappeared from all current records and the teachers have stopped calling her name in attendance suspiciously quickly. Which brings up the terrifying possibility that she could have been one of those missing students, that her survival was the accident in question. Being her friend, he had a noticeable connection to her, making him a prime target for the next disappearance. So, in between his financial problems, his grief and his violent fear of death, his mental health was definitely plummeting.

But every now and again, after a panic attack, he would consider talking to chiaki, his only remaining friend? best friend? friend. He would imagine what she’d do when he told her. She would probably try to comfort him, hug him tightly and let him cry his heart out on her shoulder. Soon after, he would reach for his phone to call her and then he would remember, that she’s an ultimate. That’s when he would start to spiral. What if she didn’t care that his friend was in coma because she’s a reserve course student? What if she knew the ultimate who attacked her and would want to protect them? What if people saw him talking to her and they decide he’s overstepping his place as a reserve course student and beat him up in an alley? What if someone overhears him talking about natsumi and he becomes the next missing student that everyone pretends never existed? What if he died and chiaki didn’t notice? What if he died and she didn’t care? Would she care? Does she even consider him a friend? What if she only hangs out with him out of pity? And he would eventually pass out from anxious exhaustion. Never having reached out to chiaki in the end.

* * *

  
The words resonated in his head, never quite leaving him.  
‘’Hope cultivation project’’  
‘’Once in a lifetime opportunity’’  
‘’We can give you a talent.’’

Although he’d like to say he immediately refused the offer, he considered it for an embarrassingly long time. Because as much as he’d like to believe chiaki when she says that talents aren’t everything and that he’s better off without one, it just feels like a complete lie. Especially when he knows that if he had a talent, he’d be an ultimate, and as an ultimate, he wouldn’t be worrying about having enough money to stay at hope’s peak, he would have been able to protect natsumi and he wouldn’t be scared for his life. He’d be praise worthy. He would be worth something. If he had a talent…he’d be happy.

And so, he decided to accept.

Had he known what would happen, he wouldn’t have smiled proudly at himself in the mirror that morning. Had he known what this decision would lead to, he wouldn’t have cut his game with chiaki short to happily say goodbye. Had he known what they would do to him, he wouldn’t have walked down to the operating room with a pep in his step.

But he didn’t know and now all he knows, is regret.

* * *

  
Time flows differently in his cell, he can’t recall if he’s been here for weeks, months, it could even be years. All he knows, is that when he can, he sleeps in his favorite spot, the cold damp floor in the corner of the small bathroom connected to his cell. Then, when he gets the chance, he eats everything they give him (in case they forget that he needs to eat again) and the rest of the day is a blur of excruciating pain and hoping he disassociates or passes out.

The days he’s spent in this horrid place all seem to blur, but the first few are strikingly clear. He remembers waking up thinking it was over, that he now had a talent and could leave. But he was strapped to the operating table and not one single scientist made a move to untie him, instead, prepping more surgical tools. He asked to be untied. He asked to know what was going on. He asked to go home. He asked to be let go. He asked what they were going to do. He tried to leave his restraints. He told them that this wasn’t what he agreed to. He started panicking. He struggled. He cried. He begged them to let him know what they were preparing for. Then a single scientist, wearing a long white lab coat and a surgical mask, holding a clipboard, told him in a deceptively calm and controlled voice ‘’Quiet down subject 36 or we will implement silencing procedures’’.  
That’s when it all went downhill. Operation after operation, without any warning, anesthetics and no visible rhyme nor reason, it wasn’t hard to figure out that they had never intended to give him a talent, instead they were using him as a living test subject to use however they pleased.

* * *

  
Today was a rare day, there seemed to be no procedures, for the moment at least. Taking advantage of the momentary peace, he moved to the bathroom, his favorite place. In the small bathroom, there was no security cameras, no rusty prison bars and a single mirror. He had originally avoided the mirror, in fear of what he would see, but today, the urge to know what he looked like overrode his fears.

The mirror is small and nearly rusted over, but it works well enough to show him an unpleasant image. He had prayed that those terrible memories didn’t leave visible marks, but wishful thinking didn’t hide scars. As expected, there was many small scars littering his face and neck, but the more noticeable changes were more jarring. His brown hair had grown considerably, almost touching his shoulders. He had one, singular, blood red eye. He had almost forgotten the transplant, but the foreign eye, a stranger’s eye, was thoroughly embedded as a perfect reminder. Finally, the large, gruesome, red scar wrapping around his forehead and his entire head. Maybe it wouldn’t be so disgusting if he didn’t know it’s origins, but knowing that it’s a byproduct of the many times, they opened up his skull to toy with his brain, ripping open the same incision again and again and again before it had a chance to heal properly making it larger and messier and more inflamed. It left no room for interpretation.

The introspection only gave him the urge to rip the mirror off the wall and shatter it beyond repair. Perhaps it was the complete lack of control he now had over his life, but it was almost impossible to resist the impulse. As he violently ripped it off the wall in one swift motion, he noticed red and his anger vanished, replaced with surprise and curiosity. Behind the mirror was messy writing, shakily written in red liquid, most likely blood, and it read; ‘My name is ren yamamoto’ and directly below it ‘not subject 16’.  
Suddenly everything was startlingly clear, all of those missing students that were never found, the ones he used to be so very afraid of joining, they had been his predecessors. They called him subject 36 because he was the thirty-sixth student to be promised a talent and used for…experimentation.

All of his built-up anger and frustration was overshadowed with this deep feeling of shame. How could he have been so stupid? He had known about the disappearances and it had never even crossed his mind that hope’s peak staff was behind it. It was obvious in hindsight, not only did they not care about the disappearances, they actively covered it up! … Because they were the ones behind it. They had caused him and so many others, so much pain. And for what? Scientific advancement? The hope cultivation project? Developing talent? Or was that part all a lie as well? His shoulders slumped at the thought. Had he really been so stupid as to believe that he could ever be an ultimate? Did he really think that he could ever be worth something? If he hadn’t been so naïve, so stupid, so worthless, he wouldn’t have agreed to this, he wouldn’t be in this situation.  
He gently put the mirror back on the wall. The surge of self-loathing didn’t leave him all day.

* * *

  
He lay bound to the operating table, cynically wondering what today’s procedures would bring. The muffled voice of a scientist interrupted his thoughts.

‘’It is time to complete the project, let’s hope this try is a successful one.’’

Another voice cut in.

‘’what if we went on another course of action, I personally do not believe that the ultimate hope should bear so many scars’’  
“I agree that it’s unseemly, but how would we achieve the goal without it?”  
“We could always create the ultimate hope “  
“…”  
“We certainly have the tools to do so “  
“Well, it’s decided, once we extract the required DNA send it back to the cell”  
“We’ll dispose of the subject after completion”  
“Let’s get to work “

Hajime didn’t understand half of what they were saying but he did gleam two facts. First, that after they finished this procedure he would be disposed of. Second, that they were creating something, something that would replace him, something that would require his cell, something worthy of the title; the ultimate hope.


	2. chap. 1

When izuru kamakura was born, everything was new. It all seemed so colorful and vibrant. From the liquid from which he arose from, which had such an interesting texture, to the cold floor beneath his feet. Every single texture, sensation, color, noise, sight and smell was so very interesting. He wanted to see everything, touch everything and know everything. There were so many things to discover, to explore, he wanted to find out where he was and who were the people in white surrounding him and even the reason for his very existence. 

Approximately an hour after his creation, he began to feel a sensation he would later identify as boredom. 

The head scientist, his creator and as such is to be referred to as father, had explained his existence and the reason for his existence in a simple and concise way. He was a clone, artificially created using the genetic material of an individual, resulting in a second individual virtually identical to the original one. At first, that had been interesting as well, he had wondered what his predecessor was like and what sort of interesting interactions would result in their meeting. Unfortunately, father was quick to assure him that the individual in question had already been disposed of. Then, father had informed him of his purpose, he was to gain, through careful experimental procedures, every talent ever researched at this place named hope’s peak academy. After the completion of the acquisition of talents, he would become the ultimate hope. A tool for his superiors, to use his talents to spread hope to humanity. 

Approximately five hours after his creation, the world seemed to dull, his curiosity fading away.

He had been instructed to stand in wait for their superiors to arrive. He did as he was told, but it brought him no satisfaction. From father’s explanations, it became clear that he was not leave this place for a long time, he might never get to experience other locations such as ‘’hope’s peak academy’’ and ‘’the outside’’. To add to the fact, he had been discouraged from touching anything or wandering. It became clear that exploration was not an activity he was created to do, despite his curiosity. To top it all off, all of his previous questions had been answered in an unsatisfactory manner. Irritation permeated his skin, leaving him to wonder if this feeling was the hope that they kept mentioning. For all he knew it could very well be. Perhaps when he acquired his talents, he would transcend this boredom. 

Approximately nine hours after his creation, the only thing he seemed to be able to feel was a monotone resolve to comply. 

He had now completed the required tests and procedures, as well as the meeting with his superiors. Despite father’s praise, the superiors he encountered and the colleagues father worked with, all seemed to contradict themselves on a moral level. They spoke to him of the mission he must adopt, to aid humanity, to prevent death and destruction, to spread hope to all he encounters. They also included a proud summation of the steps they took to create him. Even if he did not understand the hope they preached, he comprehended the blatant contradictions in their statements. They told him to protect and cherish all human life despite having indirectly admitted to having been the cause of the death of many individuals. They told him to respect and prevent any harm from befalling any individual, while detailing the harm they inflicted on individuals to develop the technology used to create him. They told him to use his talents to aid humanity, but have also explained that he is a tool to be at the beck and call of their superiors, a small group of people, decidedly not humanity. Thanks to their confusing words of double meaning, he began to doubt that they even understood the hope that they supposedly wish to create. 

Approximately twelve hours after his creation, he walked in tandem with Father, hoping his ‘’cell’’ would satisfy his boredom, even momentarily. 

The cell was decidedly not as interesting as father seemed to believe it was. It was simply a grey room, with tiled grey floors, chipped grey walls, rusted grey bars and what seemed to be a small grey room connected to it. The only item in the room was a mattress. It only held his interest momentarily. Eventually, he wandered off to the small connected room. He was already aware that it was a bathroom, father had explained that it contained a toilet, a sink and a mirror. He entered it anyway, despite already knowing its contents. But it couldn’t be helped, everything in this place was so very predictable.

When he entered the small room, he immediately noticed it. There was a person, sitting down in a corner of the room. They weren’t supposed to be in this cell, how interesting. He examined the person a little more thoroughly, they had noticed him. They were panicking silently; they were violently shaking and their eyes were widening and releasing water? Aside from that strange function, their eyes were different colors, one was a pleasant pale green and the other was a deep blood red. They had long brown hair, although not as long as his and they were wearing a similar surgical gown that he had been wearing before they had given him the suit. Who was this person? Were they a clone as well?  
Interrupting his thoughts, the person spoke in a soft and shaky, but pleading voice.

‘’p-please don’t tell them I’m here! I won’t bother you; I just don’t want to d-disappear.’’

He answered evenly.

‘’I suppose I could conceal your presence for the time being.’’

The person looked visibly relieved, giving them a hesitant smile.  
They were not where they were supposed to be. They had a strange appearance. They suggested he lie to his creator. They were unpredictable. For all those reasons and more, izuru found them interesting.


	3. chap. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a lot longer, it kinda feels like it's trying to make up for how short the previous chapter was.  
> Hope i didn't accidently make it confusing when i flip flop between pronouns for izuru, i tried not to make him ooc but idk if i succeeded.

Over the next few days, izuru hadn’t had many interactions with the person. He had already finished the operation to receive the talent of the ultimate photographer, it had been a total success. After the examination, in which he masterfully used a variety of cameras, they questioned father about any previous inhabitants of his current cell. Just as he had thought, father believed that they were dead and not currently living in his bathroom.

But now, he had several days rest until future operations. Those days would be spent in his cell, sadly without a camera to toy with, but with someone far more interesting…hopefully. He had sat on the mattress for approximately half an hour, thinking of different ways to approach the individual without leading to a boring outcome. But before he had a chance to execute any of the plans he had been ruminating on, he heard a quiet voice, it said;

‘’um do you want to come in here? We should at least know each other’s names if I’m going to live in your bathroom.’’

The question was awkward, hesitant and clearly trying to set a lighter mood than the current atmosphere. He hadn’t considered that they might be curious about him as well. He stood up swiftly and made his way to the bathroom at an even pace. Once inside, he sat down in front of the individual, closely enough that no one would see him from the security cameras, but far enough from them that he would not invade their personal space and cause them discomfort. They looked nervous so he initiated the conversation.

‘’hello, my name is izuru kamakura, soon to be the ultimate hope.’’

‘’I’m hajime hinata, I guess you could also call me subject 36-‘’

Their tone was bitter. It made him pause, could this be one of the ‘’failed attempts’’ or the one that he’s a clone of?

‘’-but that’s enough about me, how did you get in this place? Are you subject 37?’’

‘’No, I am not subject 37. I was created here; I am a clone of the previous holder of this cell. Could you be them?’’

Their features were ridden with shock.

‘’I’ve been in this cell since I’ve arrived…so you’re my clone?! So that is how they intended to get rid of me.’’

They studied izuru intently.

‘’Now that I think about it you do look awfully familiar, eerily similar, apart from the red eyes.’’

So, it was confirmed, they were the original, the one izuru was the copy of. To add to that, father seemed to have created him to replace them. They paused, then spoke again.

‘’I don’t know if I’m right about this, but you seemed pretty bored out there and honestly, so am I. So, would you like to play a game? I know it might seem a bit childish but it’s been ages since I’ve had any company, we could play chopsticks if you’d like.’’

‘’…what are, games? What is chopsticks?’’

‘’I guess that means you don’t have my memories. Well, let me explain. Chopsticks is a simple math game, you start with your hands outstretched, but with only one finger out. Then the person who starts- ‘’

Hajime hinata then proceeded to teach him how to play chopsticks, and simple math by extension. They played several rounds with varying winners. Hajime was patient and kind in his teaching. He never discouraged izuru from asking questions and answered as best as he could. Izuru was amazed to notice that in all the time that he interacted with hajime hinata, he never felt boredom.

* * *

Whenever izuru could, he would interact with hajime hinata. He knew so many things that interested izuru, such as games and ‘’the outside’’. So far, Izuru had learnt the games, chopsticks, rock paper scissors and would you rather. When izuru asked him to describe the outside, he seemed saddened by their question, but obliged.

‘’I forgot that you’ve never been outside this dreaded place. Well, izuru, the outside is a place filled with so many things. Instead of a ceiling, there is this thing we call the sky, it’s kind of hard to explain, but It’s this big, blue expanse that overlooks everything and no matter how high up you go, you can never reach it.’’

‘’The way you describe it, makes it sound like this phenomenal thing. Is it really that remarkable?’’

‘’Yeah, it is. It’s beautiful. It’s blue most of the time, but in the early hours of the morning and night, it’s a myriad of different colors, from soft purple to striking orange. At night, it’s completely black, but it’s also littered with these tiny specks of light that twinkle and form patterns, those are stars. And, the moon, is this round grey shape that illuminates everything in a soft shine when the sky is clear. But don’t get me started with the sky in the day. There are these fluffy looking white shapes, which are technically just conglomerations of water, but they look like they’d be the softest things in the world and they join together to make shapes that are constantly changing. You could lay down in the grass and watch them for hours. Sometimes you’ll see birds or planes, flying in the sky. Of course, the star of the show is the sun, this giant ball of flaming gas that appears small from earth. It’s bright and yellow, so bright that it illuminates half the world! Somehow, it’s too bright to look at directly without hurting your eyes, but it’s essentially the reason for all life on earth. We all need it on some level, it’s the reason your skin gets a healthy glow and the reason a tree was able to grow from a tiny sapling to a large towering tree with branches full of luscious leaves.’’

It would not be a stretch to say that izuru was enamored. He wanted to see everything hajime had just described with his own two eyes, it reawakened a feeling that he hadn’t felt since the early moments of his creation.

‘’I would like to see the sky, the stars and the sun. The outside appears to be a lot more interesting than I had originally thought.’’

Hajime smiled softly, seeming utterly wistful.

‘’I would like to see it too; I miss it an awful lot. There really are so many things that I used to take for granted. Maybe I could show you some day.’’

Izuru decided that he doesn’t mind the idea of seeing the outside with hajime hinata. How strange.

* * *

The next time izuru saw father, the urge to learn about the outside had not faded away and so they questioned father about the outside and the sun. As usual, Father’s answer was curt and concise.

‘’Outside of this facility, are things that will distract you from your mission. The sun is the star that is the central body of the solar system, around which the planets revolve and from which they receive light and heat.’’

The conversation left izuru feeling very confused. They had gained new information, just as they requested. But it didn’t fill them with that feeling of amazement that hajime’s description had. Why would they enjoy hajime’s explanations more than fathers? It didn’t make any sense.

* * *

‘’What is this anger you mention?’’

Hajime looked at them strangely.

‘’Anger is an emotion.’’

Izuru was still very much confused.

‘’Do you not know what emotions are? I guess from your question, you don’t.’’

He looked pensive for a moment.

‘’Emotions are…ok well, in certain situations you’ll feel something, a sensation in your gut, your heart or even your chest. This feeling will make you do certain things like frown, cry or tense your shoulders.’’

Oh.

‘’That explains it, I must not have the ability to feel emotions. Father must have removed this function during my creation, to facilitate my use as a tool.’’

Immediately, Hajime replied sternly.

‘’No that’s wrong! First of all, you are not a tool, no matter what your ‘’father’’ says. Secondly, you’re a clone, not a robot, just because you might be emotionally stunted or have a hard time identifying emotions, does not mean you don’t have them!

And I’ll prove it, tell me, have you ever had a sensation in your chest, along with an urge to do something or some sort of instinctual reaction?’’

‘’…well, when I first learnt of the outside, I felt this lightness in my chest and the impulse to see and explore the outside.’’

Hajime smiled proudly.

‘’That was probably excitement. See I told you, you have emotions!’’

‘’But I have never felt this anger you speak of.’’

‘’well, if you have one, then it’s possible to feel more. I’m sure it’ll come with time and experience.’’

‘’are you sure?’’

‘’If that’s not the case, then we’ll figure it out. I don’t mind helping you out.’’

Izuru felt excitement once more, he decides they like emotions, no matter the necessity.

* * *

The last thing hajime expected to see, was izuru kamakura moving his mattress to the bathroom. Usually by this time, he would be in the main room, sound asleep.

‘’What are you doing here izuru? Shouldn’t you be sleeping?’’

Izuru placed his mattress next to hajime, before settling himself on it.

‘’Trying to rest has only resulted in failure, hence, I’ve decided to spend my time awake productively.’’

Well, that has to be the fanciest way of saying ‘’I can’t sleep so I’m spending time with you’’ that he’s ever heard. But why would the ultimate hope want to spend time with him? He thought that after izuru had gained more talents, they would grow bored of hanging out with him, but that was not the case. Despite having the body of a fifteen-year-old and the talents of many, izuru didn’t know much of the world and seemed to be entertained by the simplest things. It was almost like he was a child…now that he thought about it, izuru hadn’t been alive for very long, a few months at most. So, in actuality, despite being probably the most talented person alive, they were mentally a child. This new revelation gave hajime an idea.

‘’Do you want me to tell you a bedtime story?’’

Izuru’s eyes lit up, the way they always did when he mentioned something they’d never heard of.

‘’That would be greatly appreciated.’’

Hajime didn’t remember any stories by heart, but he figured izuru wouldn’t know the difference if he forgot any details. Izuru looked at him expectantly and he knew it was too late to back out now, not when they were giving him the izuru equivalent of puppy eyes.

‘’Once upon a time, there lived a little girl who wore a red cape with a hood. She was known as little red riding hood. One day, her mother sent her off into the woods to deliver food to her grandmother, who lived in a wooden cabin. As little red riding hood was skipping on the gravel path, she encountered a wolf. -‘’

By the time hajime had finished, he was convinced he’d completely botched it. He forgot about the woodsman until the very end, his voice for the wolf was cringy at best and he definitely rambled about unnecessary details. He turned to apologize to izuru for fucking it up, but izuru was fast asleep. They were sitting up on the mattress, slumped against the wall, looking completely at peace. Hajime hadn’t expected his bedtime story to help izuru sleep, but just like with everything else, izuru defied his expectations.

He got up and gently moved izuru, so that they’d be laying down and wouldn’t hurt their back. No matter how much hajime wished he resented izuru, for having everything hajime ever wanted, for being an improved version of himself and never experiencing all the pain he’d endured… he couldn’t. It wasn’t izuru’s fault that he was a clone, he never asked to be created. It was especially hard in moments like these, impossible even, when hajime couldn’t see anything but a child. At the moment, all that he wanted to do was protect izuru, shield them from all that is horrid in this world, to spoil them rotten, to hold them tightly in his arms and never let go.

* * *

Izuru’s favorite time of the day, was the time spent with hajime. These days, the soul-crushing boredom never lasted for very long. Whenever izuru had an operation, an examination or had to wait for father’s superiors, he simply looked forward to going back to their cell. Izuru was starting to think that they might be more loyal to hajime than father. That thought didn’t sit right with izuru. Everything father did was to make izuru the perfect tool to spread hope to humanity. But izuru did not know hajime’s goal, the driving force behind his every action.

When izuru would come back to the cell, they would play games or he would tell them stories. At night, whenever izuru couldn’t sleep, and sometimes even when he could, hajime would tuck them in and tell them bedtime stories or sing them lullabies. Hajime braided his hair. He scolded them if they didn’t finish their portion of the food. He would fuss over minor scratches and insist they ask father for a bandage. He would pat their head whenever izuru accomplished something. Izuru could not see any rhyme nor reason for these actions. They resolved to find out. To determine hajime’s goal.

* * *

‘’Are you asking me if I have an ulterior motive to my actions?’’

He looked incredulous, as if izuru had accused him of something horrible. Then, hajime’s face light up in understanding before softening.

‘’Listen, izuru, I spend time with you because I enjoy spending time with you. I fuss over you and help you sleep, because I care about you. That’s all there is to it.’’

‘’That’s illogical, there must be a reason for why you feel compelled to do these things. No matter if you enjoy it or not.’’

‘’I know this is probably a new concept for you, but there doesn’t need to be a reason for people to care about you. No matter what you do, whether you’re the ultimate hope or not, I’ll still care about you. And no matter what happens, you’re still worthy of love and happiness.’’

‘’But why?’’

‘’I guess it’s because, I see you as my little brother.’’

‘’…your little brother?’’

‘’I-it’s ok if that seems weird to you- ‘’

‘’Can you be my big brother then?’’

‘’huh? Really?’’

Izuru nodded.

Slowly and tentatively, hajime wrapped his arms around izuru. His hold was gentle, but warm. After a moment of surprise from the sudden contact, izuru reciprocated and wrapped his arms around hajime, resting his head on his shoulder. Izuru was filled with this warmth in his chest, he had gained an older brother, so the feeling must be happiness.

Likewise, the last thing that hajime expected to gained from this wretched place, was a little brother. But he didn’t regret a thing.


	4. chap. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the new one!  
> Every comment warms my heart.  
> I don't know if anyone is following this, but i'll probably update every wednesday from now on.
> 
> btw, if anyone like's listening to music while reading, i could tell you the name of the spotify playlist i made for this fic. It's my muse.

Hajime hadn’t expected them to forget to ‘’dispose of him’’. He hadn’t expected the new tenant of his cell to agree, not to turn him in. He hadn’t expected to basically take the ultimate hope under his wing. He hadn’t expected to be able to survive to this point, at all. But he did. And like all good things, it must now come to an end.

When it was just him, they had only cleaned the cell once. But now, the one living here was the ultimate hope, not just some test subject. So, it was only a matter of time until they came to clean the cell. They would probably do it when izuru had an operation of some sort, expecting the cell to be empty. Maybe they wouldn’t find him right away, maybe they would even clean the entirety of the main room before moving on to the bathroom. But they would find him eventually. They might not recognize him, but they would recognize that he shouldn’t be here and pause their cleaning, to deal with him. After that, he’s not too sure what would happen. Perhaps they would kill him right then and there, or maybe, they would enjoy having something to toy with, once more. Regardless, he’ll struggle. It would be pointless, sure, but he’ll be damned if he goes out without putting up a fight. Who knows, if he were healthy, maybe he could actually fight them off. But he wasn’t healthy. How could he be, after going without a proper meal, without any exercise and completely without sunlight, for so long.

He had briefly entertained the thought of escaping with izuru, but it was quickly brushed aside. No matter how much hajime had grown to care about izuru, it doesn’t guarantee that they care about him in return. Sure, Izuru may call him ‘’big brother’’ and hug him every day, but that’s only because he’s izuru’s only option. As worthless as he is, he’s izuru’s best role model and probably his only role model with morals. Once izuru meets other people, people that aren’t essentially evil scientists, they’ll quickly realize that hajime, isn’t all that great. They’ll either, slowly distance themselves from him, until hajime is all alone once again. Or, they’d stay by his side out of pity and grow even more tired of him, until they regret having saved him at all. Either way, if they took him with them when they escaped, they’ll surely regret it.

Besides, it’s too late for him anyway. He is far past the point of being saved. How could he possibly live a normal life looking the way he does, scarred beyond repair, practically unrecognizable from who he used to be. Moreover, it’s not like anyone is waiting for him anyway. Natsumi is in a coma. Mom cut him off, so, she probably doesn’t want anything to do with him ever again. Everyone he ever knew in the reserve course has probably avoided his memory like the plague, not that he could blame them. Chiaki most likely thinks he’s dead, and she wouldn’t be that far off. Thinking of chiaki, he selfishly hopes that she grieved for him before moving on to better things. Even if she had missed him, her friends probably helped her move on. Notably the big fancy blond one, the hyper punk one, the cute white haired one and natsumi’s older brother. He’s grateful that, unlike him, she had other people that cared about her.

Compared to him, izuru is so full of life. They shouldn’t be down here, rotting next to him. They should be above ground, exploring the world, happy and free. Frankly, it would be selfish of him to try and be included in that.

Hajime had already made up his mind, he had a plan of action to ensure that izuru would be happy.

…So what, if that plan didn’t include himself?

* * *

Hajime was drifting off into sleep, but was abruptly awakened by the sound of the cell door opening and closing. For a moment, he could barely think beyond his irritation. Though, he was 100% less groggy when he realized what that meant, that izuru was back. Not too long after the sound, izuru was already in the bathroom. They sat down next to hajime and opened their arms expectantly, making little grabby motions with their hands. Hajime smiled and enveloped him in a hug, holding them firmly and rubbing their back reassuringly.

Ever since Hajime had hugged izuru for the first time, izuru would hug him at any opportunity. Especially when they came back to the cell after being away for a while, then they would be adorably clingy. It always made Hajime tear up, at the thought that he had such an adorable little brother.

He sobered up when he remembered the conversation that they were about to have. He slowly and regretfully, let go. Izuru settled themselves next to him, probably thinking that they would play a game, and they would, but after this. Gathering his courage, he spoke.

“Hey izuru, if I were to, hypothetically, disappear. I want you to try and fulfill, one last wish of mine.”

Izuru creased his eyebrows in confusion.

“I suppose if that hypothetical situation arose. But it won’t.”

“Right…anyway, _if_ that happens, I have only one wish.”

He looked izuru directly in the eyes.

“I want you to escape. I want you to get out of here and go as far away from this place as you can. I don’t care what you do after that, as long as you’re happy and free. That’s my wish.”

‘’why do you speak as if you’re going to disappear?’’

‘’…just promise me. Promise me, that when-, **_if_** , I disappear. You’ll escape.’’

‘’Why would you disappear?’’

‘’just promise me.’’

‘’…alright, I promise.’’

And that was that.

The rest of the day went by as usual, even if izuru kept giving him concerned looks.

* * *

Every day after that, hajime lived life like he did before he met izuru, as if every day was his last.

When he told izuru stories, he’d include stories of his childhood.

When he sung izuru lullabies, he’d continue long after they’d fallen asleep.

When they ate, he would give izuru a much larger portion.

He made every joke he could think of, even the lamest ones.

Every single moment that he had with izuru, he would try and show them how much he cared about them.

And every day, he hoped it was enough.

* * *

It was sometime before night. Izuru and hajime were chatting about the different shades of grey, the only color in the cell. Hajime asked him a light-hearted question that had been on his mind for a bit.

‘’Hey izuru, do you have a favorite talent? You have so many at this point, it’s ridiculous.’’

‘’I do, it’s the talent of the ultimate musician.’’

‘’Oh! I think that was one of my friend’s classmates. She was very energetic if I remember correctly.’’

‘’She sounds to be very entertaining, as expected of the ultimate musician.’’

‘’I think that was just her personality though, anyway, what does being the ultimate musician even entail?’’

‘’I have acquired enhanced hearing, a complete understanding of musical vocabulary, knowledge of the intricacies of every instrument and a mental archive of every song of every genre ever recorded.’’

‘’Wow. If you know every song ever recorded, what’s your favorite song? Mine’s definitely; hopelessly devoted to you. It’s a bop.’’

‘’If we are going by personal preferences, my favorite song is; you are my sunshine.’’

‘’huh? Do you mean the song that goes: ~you are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey~’’

‘’That is the one.’’

‘’Can I ask what makes it your favorite song?’’

‘’It is the best song, that my favorite singer has sung.’’

‘’Man, they must be awesome! Who is it?’’

‘’Hajime hinata.’’

‘’…I’m your favorite singer? … You can’t mean that.’’

‘’I do. You are my favorite person in the entire world.’’

Like a chipped cup, tears started rolling down hajime’s cheeks. He wasn’t outright bawling, but it was a near thing. Izuru immediately started panicking, unsure of what to do, but desperately wanting to comfort him. So, they did the one thing that had always comforted them. They pulled hajime into a hug, securing their grip on him. The effect was instantaneous, hajime wrapped his arms around them and clung to their suit as if he was clinging on for dear life. It felt a bit strange to have the roles reversed, but they wouldn’t want him to cry all alone.

Hajime didn’t let go for most of the night and by the end of it, their shoulder was more than a little damp. But the grateful smile his big brother gave him after the fact, made it all worth it.

* * *

It was a regular day, nothing remarkable about it. Like any typical day, Izuru had had an operation.

As he sometimes did, Father accompanied izuru back to their cell. They walked in silence and by the time they arrived, izuru was barely hiding his excitement. They entered the cell calmly. Then they quickly rushed to the bathroom.

Izuru was simply thrilled at the thought that they could finally see hajime, that they could finally hug his big brother. As he entered the joint room, he turned to the right side to greet hajime… but there was nobody there. They frantically looked to the left, then straight ahead and right again. But no matter where they searched, a single fact remained constant. Nobody was in the bathroom. Izuru rushed out of the bathroom to desperately survey the rest of the cell. However, regardless of where they looked, they couldn’t find him. That’s when Izuru started to panic. Their frantic thoughts were then suddenly interrupted by a familiar, clinical, monotone voice.

‘’Looking for something?’’

He turned only to see father, standing directly in front of the cell. When he didn’t answer, father continued.

‘’What compelled you to avoid reporting it, is beyond me. But no matter, the inconvenience has been removed.’’

Izuru couldn’t move. It couldn’t be. Brother wasn’t dead. he couldn’t be. It couldn’t be true.

‘’I’m glad we noticed it before it could cause any problems. Now that we’ve removed it, you can become the ultimate hope without any sort of distraction. Aren’t you excited?”

Father smiled.

‘’Be ready, tomorrow you’ll gain the talent of the ultimate painter. Then, you’ll be unequivocally complete. At long last, you will truly be worthy of the title: The Ultimate Hope.’’

Then he left. Calmly and confidently. As if he hadn’t just ruined their lives.

* * *

For the longest time, izuru couldn’t move, perhaps it was shock, perhaps it was premature grief. But it didn’t last forever, soon, he was brimming with pure, unfiltered, unbridled rage. Right then and there, izuru wanted nothing more than to find father and make him suffer. They wanted to burn this place to the ground. They wanted revenge. They wanted to make father regret having ever laid a hand on his big brother.

But then, they remembered the promise. Brother had disappeared, so to truly honor his brother’s last wish, he would need to escape. Unfortunately, escape and revenge were not synonymous. Their anger slowed to a simmer. It wasn’t completely certain that hajime was dead, he might still be alive. But if he enacted his plan to burn this place to the ground, then he wouldn’t be anymore.

He used the talent of the ultimate analyst to determine a flawless course of action.

* * *

That night, using a handful of their talents, they escaped their cell effortlessly and made their way to the exit. Avoiding a multitude of unfamiliar scientists. Now there they were, standing before the door to their freedom. At that moment, they made a promise of their own. They would honor hajime’s wish, they would escape. But they wouldn’t abandon him. They would come back, again and again, until they found him. Then once they found their brother, they would have their revenge. They would burn this place to the ground and show father true anguish.

Izuru turned the door knob quietly. The door opened without a single creak and suddenly everything in sight was flooded with light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot progresses.  
> In izuru's mind revenge=arson.


	5. chap. 4

When izuru opened the door, he found himself at the threshold of ‘’the outside’’. All of a sudden, it was no longer night, or at least he didn’t think so. Night had always meant dimmed lights, before absolute darkness. Just moments before, it had been pitch-black, a darkness so deep that you could barely even see your own hands. But now, it wasn’t dark at all, it was impossibly bright and it didn’t make any sense. What was this place? Izuru took a moment to get accustomed to the unexpected light.

The air beyond the threshold, is fresh, in a way that feels unnaturally natural. It smells like nothing they had ever smelt. It wasn’t the scent of the chemicals that soaked everything in the facility in an effort to sterilize it, or the mold that crept in forgotten corners, nor the blood that had seeped so deep into the floors that no amount of scrubbing could unearth it.

Once he could clearly see in front of him, it was a truly a sight to behold. Straight out ahead of him, was so many things he hadn’t anticipated, it felt like they had just walked into one of hajime’s stories. There were so many tall plants that only seemed to grow taller the more he looked, brown stems and heads full of green…he searched his seemingly infinite knowledge for an explanation.… trees, that’s what they were. They were just as grandiose as hajime had described them. But in between all the trees, he noticed something he had never expected to see. The only reference they had for this was hajime’s account and the many pleasant interpretations of their dreams. Behind the trees was an incredibly soft yet vibrant blue, it stretched out from behind the trees to directly above it, like a large blue expanse. There were even sparse white shapes scattered through it. There was no doubt about it, this was the sky.

They were just about to step forward to get a better look, absolutely mesmerized by this unbelievable sight. Only one foot touched the ground before they quickly retracted their foot. Something about it unsettled them, it’s unsteadiness seemed dangerous. They inspected the floor thoroughly. It seemed to be made of tightly packed particles of dirt, along with unnecessarily thin strings of green…grass. Logically, izuru was aware that this was the ground, but as they stepped unto it, it was still disconcerting to not feel the smooth, polished tiles or the solid concrete that had always been beneath his feet. As he finally crossed the threshold, he didn’t forget to carefully close the door, lest the entire plan be for naught thanks to a moment of carelessness.

It felt strange to be outside, in a way that it felt strange to forsake father, not bad, simply, unfamiliar. Selfishly, izuru stood there a moment more, to take in the sight of a sea of trees, admire the mesmerizing sky and to adapt to the sensation of uneven footing. It was everything they had ever dreamt of and more, like if they were in a fairytale. Although, as the gentle breeze wafted through their hair, it also felt, bittersweet. Instantly, izuru was uncomfortably aware that hajime wasn’t by their side, that their big brother wasn’t there to witness this amazing sight. Hopefully, he would be soon. That train of thought reminded izuru of the next step of their plan. Time to find a base of operations.

It suddenly occurred to him, that the next step could only be accomplished if they stepped forward, if he actually distanced himself from the only place, he’s ever known. For a moment, they hesitated, before reminding himself that they couldn’t find brother if the next step wasn’t accomplished. The door that izuru had found to be the exit and perhaps also the entrance of the facility, seemed to be a back door of a pristine building. So, with a surge of determination, they followed the wall of the building in the opposite direction of the door, in search of a base of operations.

Eventually, he found himself at what appeared to be the front of the building. It seemed uncannily familiar; they searched the archive that is their knowledge. Oh, it’s hope’s peak academy. How curious.

He encountered someone in his path, a short and cheerful looking woman. He found himself staring at her incredibly long peach colored hair. Apparently, she thought that he had business here, because the very next thing she did after noticing him, was ask good naturedly:

‘’Oh! Hello! What are you doing here?’

Izuru found himself unsure on how to respond. They didn’t know what answer would satisfy her. Their throat seemed to dry up. Talking to her wasn’t like talking to father, nor brother. One wrong word and she could potentially make it a lot harder for them to search for brother.

While they were busy trying to craft the perfect response, the woman was starting to become unsettled. A fact that izuru was wholly unaware of, is that although he has a variety of expressions, their default is a completely, expressionless, unnerving and intimidating stare. A look that seems almost specifically made to ward off others and establish superiority. The woman’s cheerful demeanor dimmed slightly at his expression; her smile became incredibly sheepish. Completely misunderstanding izuru’s reaction, she hurriedly added;

‘’Oh! Do you have business with the principal perhaps?’’

While her internal monologue went more along the lines of:

‘WHY ARE THEY HERE?! I HAVE NO IDEA WHY, BUT IM GETTING THE FEELING I SHOULD KNOW! THINK! THINK! THINK! THEY’RE WEARING A SUIT, SO BUISNESS IDK?! WAIT! NO! WHY DID I SAY THAT?! THEY’RE A CHILD, SO MAYBE A STUDENT? NO UNIFORM. AHHHH! I BETTER FIGURE IT OUT SOON SO THEY STOP GLARING AT ME! WAIT! MAYBE THEY HAVE A TALENT? A TRANSFER STUDENT OR SOMETHING? JUST SAY SOMETHING NOW, OH I HATE THAT JUDGEMENTAL STARE…’

‘’…Or are you a transfer student by any chance?’’

Izuru blinked.

‘YES! GOT IT! GO ME!’

‘’Awesome! what’s your ultimate?’’

‘’The Ultimate hope.’’

That threw her for a loop.

‘’huh?’’

* * *

In all his years as a principal, he’d never encountered a situation quite like this.

‘’You say that your talent, is called, ‘’the ultimate hope’’?

They nod.

‘’And that, your talent, is being talented in anything and everything.’’

‘’except painting.’’

‘’Right, except painting.’’

Of all the things he’s heard, out of every made-up reason to be enrolled in hope’s peak free of tuition. This takes the cake.

‘’Listen kid, it sounds great and all, but we scout our students with ultimates. Besides, how would I even test a talent like ‘’the ultimate hope’’? If you want to get an education here, enroll in the reserve course.’’

They don’t answer. For, by this point, izuru had figured out that not responding was sometimes the best response.

Yukizome looked at izuru with pity. Then she turned to jin, a determined glint in her eyes.

‘’What if we just give them a standard test for a random talent? They say they have every talent, so no matter which test it is, they should be able to pass it!’’

It had already been a tiring morning; he honestly no longer has the energy to argue with her. So, with a sigh, he agrees.

‘’Alright, sure. A talent truly hard to replicate…We’ll have you tested for the talent; the ultimate detective.’’

He opens up a file cabinet and rummages through case after case before landing on one, that was especially thin.

‘’This case was deemed impossible to solve, the only person that has solved it, is the ultimate detective, and they had years of experience by this point.’’

He hands the paper-thin file to izuru.

‘’This is the only copy, read it, then tell me, what was the murder weapon.’’

Izuru takes the file and starts to read it, with as much concentration as you’d read an advertisement.

Chisa scoots closer to jin and leans over to angrily whisper to him.

‘’Did you really have to give them such a hard time! Way to crush a kid’s confidence.’’

He rolls his eyes.

‘’I’m just following protocol.’’

‘’Is there even any info in there? Its paper thin!’’

‘’Relax, it’s a fair test.’’

‘’Is the info even reliable?’’

‘’…well. Not exactly, no. I mean, technically the witness’s testimony is biased and the autopsy report may have been poorly done, which resulted in it being incredibly misleading. But it’s a test! It’s not supposed to be easy.’’

‘’Is it even possible to solve it?’’

‘’… It’s not impossible to solve, kyoko did it.’’

‘’Sorry I doubted you, since you’re the best at decision making. I’m sure there’s no way you’ve ever misjudged a situation and let someone down.’’

‘’…How do you know about that?’’

‘’I have ears, kirigiri.’’

‘’Just, hush, it’s not the time.’’

The kid’s monotone voice echoes in the office.

‘’it was a ukelele.’’

What? No. It couldn’t be. He can’t believe it.

‘’how did you-?’’

He looks directly into those cold, unflinching, blood red eyes.

‘’That’s…correct. What did you say your name was again?’’

‘’Izuru kamukura.’’

‘’Well, kamukura, we’d love to have you at hope’s peak academy.’’

Mission accomplished, izuru had found a base of operations.

* * *

‘’I’m so excited to have you in my class izuru! You’ll love your new classmates, I’m 100% confident that you’ll all get along, so don’t worry!’’

The bubbly woman, whose name was revealed to be chisa yukizome: the ultimate house keeper, seems to be completely oblivious to the fact that those worries she assumes he possesses, do not bother him. They were only here temporarily, as a base of operations while they searched for brother. He was not here to make friends, that could come later. Their classmate’s view of him was the least of their priorities.

They arrive at a classroom door.

‘’Ok, just stay here, I’ll announce you since this is really late in the year to join and they’re not expecting you at all.’’

They stand there as she enters the classroom. Izuru has experience with waiting, too much experience.

* * *

Miss yukizome enters the classroom excitedly. Sonia nevermind is immediately by her side and questions her, worriedly.

‘’You were gone for an awfully long time miss yukizome! Are you alright?’’

Yukizome brushes away her concerns with the wave of a hand.

‘’It’s alright. No, it’s more than alright! I have an announcement to make!’’

That gets the attention of the entire class.

Proudly, yukizome opens up her arms wide and declares.

‘’We have a new student!’’

The room erupts into noise.

‘’Yahoo!, I hope that they like music so ibuki can talk muuuuusic!’’

‘’How wonderful! I look forward to making their acquaintance.’’

‘’A new student, they better not underestimate my inconceivably wondrous powers, then perhaps we can get along.’’

‘’yeah…I hope we all get along… sorry, this is my favorite level.’’

‘’I have no doubt that they will be a hopeful addition.’’

‘’As long as they don’t get in my fucking way.’’

‘’Like young master, I am anticipating their arrival as well.’’

‘’Maybe it’ll be a hot chick.’’

‘’A new player to my team, I welcome the challenge! Bring it on!’’

‘’That’s cool and all but I’m hungry…Wait, do you think it’s possible that they’re the ultimate snack holder?!’’

‘’oh, I hope they’re a snack~’’

‘’Another peasant to guide, how tiresome.’’

‘’As long as they’re not as annoying as big barf, then we’ll be good.’’

‘’Oh, be polite saionji! I’m hoping they’re reliable though, I don’t what I would do with another unreliable boy.’’

‘’M-maybe they’ll b-be n-n-nice.’’

After the chatter had died down a bit, ibuki is practically buzzing in her seat.

‘’When are they coming?! I can’t wait!’’

Clasping her hands together, yukizome addresses the question.

‘’They’re coming…Now! So, treat your new classmate nicely while they introduce themselves.’’

She opens the door. The person that walks out of it has long brown hair that reaches their knees, two sharp red eyes and is wearing an incredibly professional black and white, business suit. When they speak, their tone is cold and impassive.

‘’Hello, my name is izuru kamukura. My title, is the ultimate hope.’’

Their gaze seems to pierce the soul, while simultaneously giving off an aura of complete indifference. Their very demeanor is cold, closed off, uninviting. Everything about izuru kamukura screams unapproachable and dangerous.

Except for one person, who is practically foaming at the mouth with unstable awe.

‘’My luck has finally reached its peak! To be in the presence of the ultimate hope! Please forgive my disgusting self.’’

‘’You’re forgiven.’’

To izuru, this is just basic manners.

To the rest of the class, this just makes them all the more unapproachable.

Chiaki shakes her head disappointedly.

‘’Nagito, no.’’

* * *

He feels like a puppet with cut strings. He’s completely unable to move, he’s barely even conscious. His vision is more than a little blurry, all he sees is a flurry of white. He tries to recall what happened, but pulls up short. He tries to do something, anything, to give him a clue, to what the fuck is going on. Thankfully, his hearing returned, although it phases in and out like a broken radio. Muffled voices are shouting, it got quiet, then he hears it.

‘’What do you mean they aren’t in the cell!’’

Why are they so angry?

‘’I-##############################-not my fault!’’

‘’Do you know who they’ll blame for this? I’ll be ruined, they’ll-########################################################################################################.’’

Static fills his ears once more, like a little bee, buzzing directly into his brain. Interrupting all coherent thought.

‘’It wasn’t my idea to do this! You’re the father! I just wanted to do it the usual way but then you had to-##########################-izuru-###################################################.’’

Wait. Izuru? Why are they talking about izuru? Aren’t they talking about the escapee-?

Oh.

Izuru is finally free, izuru is finally safe. He thinks that if he could, he would be crying tears of joy. Finally, izuru had left this awful place behind. Wait. Then why is he still alive? Shouldn’t he be dead?

‘’####################-in awful condition, but with a few months’ work. We could feasibly salvage the original subject.’’

So, they have more planned for him. Why couldn’t they have just killed him? He isn’t used to the pain anymore. His time with izuru had spoiled him and now it would be his downfall. Why did things get better only to leave him all alone once again? Why does he have to continue to suffer? Why couldn’t he have just died? Why why why why why why why why why why Why Why Why Why Why Why Why WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY-#########################################################################################################################################################################.

Hajime lost consciousness.


	6. chap. 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a double update!  
> So much for a weekly schedule, but i was hit with inspiration!
> 
> I hope i did the new characters justice, they are so fun to write!

Chiaki raised her hand.

‘’Miss yukizome? May I leave early? It’s my Friday session.’’

‘’Yes, go ahead. I’ll get kamukura settled in. Don’t worry about missing work, just finish that book report, alright?’’

‘’Yeah, I will.’’

She rose from her seat, grabbed her pink pastel back pack and made her way out of class. She walked down the hall, down the stairs and made a couple more turns before arriving to a familiar office. Without any hesitation, she entered and sat down on the couch opposite the man on the swivel chair. The man had blond hair and kind grey eyes. He grabbed his clipboard and turned to face her.

‘’Hello chiaki, you’re right on time. Any new developments you want to inform me of before we start?’’

‘’Well, we have this new student…They seem like the type to play two player games but nobody ever offers to play with them. Like powerful, but sorta lonely.’’

‘’It’s good to see that you aren’t dismissing them, I’ll look forward to hearing about future interactions.’’

He scribbles something on his clipboard.

‘’Anything else?’’

‘’Yeah, I still play games a lot…but it’s more fun now, I think. Does that make any sense?’’

‘’It does, we’ve discussed about how playing games can be hurtful if you use it as a crutch instead of a temporary and enjoyable experience.’’

Chiaki smiles a little.

‘’Cool. I’m leveling up.’’

He looks down at his notes, then back at her.

‘’By any chance, are you still doing that search in your free time?’’

The small smile has slipped off her face.

‘’What’s it to you?’’

‘’Don’t misunderstand, I’m not telling you to stop your search. In fact, I find it admirable that you still continue to search for your friend. But it won’t do you any good if it starts to affect you and your mental health. So, give me an update.’’

‘’So long as it’s not a system reboot, I guess…’’

She’s quiet for a bit, as if she’s trying to find the right words but can’t.

‘’It’s the same, nothing has changed. All I know, is that it’s as if he vanished into thin air.’’

She starts to look frustrated.

‘’The only thing his file says is that he’s been expelled, but nothing besides that. Being expelled doesn’t mean they purge you from the system, but there’s no mention of him anywhere else! Not the student roster, not the yearbook, not even the list of contributors to the fall bake sale! I know that that his name was on that list! I tasted his pumpkin shaped chocolate chip cookies…’’

He doesn’t interrupt her, simply writes something on his clipboard.

‘’Everyone I talked to from his class acts like he never existed! I can’t find a way to contact his parents. Even the police didn’t take my missing’s persons report seriously…It doesn’t make any sense.’’

She sighs.

‘’At first, as you already know, I was afraid that he’d only been a fragment of my imagination. But impostor remembers him, so I know that’s wrong… It’s just, I don’t want to stop looking for him. But I’m going to get a game over at this rate.’’

After scribbling down a few more things, he puts a hand on his chin in contemplation.

‘’This is just a suggestion, feel free to dismiss it, but it sounds to me like you’d have a greater chance of success if you had others to help you.’’

‘’…Maybe you’re right, that does seem like a winning strategy.’’

‘’And don’t forget what we talked about before.’’

‘’I know I know, whatever happened, it wasn’t my fault that it did. Do it to honor his memory. Burning myself out won’t help anyone.’’

‘’I was going to say, your friends care about you. But those work too.’’

He glances at his watch.

‘’And that’s it for this session. See you next Tuesday.’’

‘’See you.’’

* * *

She enters the classrooms and immediately notices him scribbling down math equations in his notebook.

‘’Hey nagito?’’

He looks up from his math homework.

‘’Yes chiaki?’’

‘’…would you help me with something?’’

‘’Anything to help an ultimate!’’

She gives him a look.

‘’And a friend.’’

He concedes with a sigh. Chiaki grins. All he does in return, is raise a pale eyebrow.

‘’So, what do you need my help with?’’

‘’Well, do you remember a couple months ago, when I played more games than usual and kind of isolated myself?’’

‘’Yes, I do, we were all very worried.’’

‘’I was like that, because a friend of mine went missing and I’m trying to find him.’’

Nagito looked legitimately horrified.

‘’How despairful! I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of this before! Do I know them?’’

‘’Yeah, I brought him to that smashbros tournament and the zelda tournament and the kirby tournament, a lot of tournaments actually. His name is hajime hinata. I’m sure you’ve met him, however briefly, he has short spiky brown hair, a funny ahoge, light green eyes, he’s good at playing peach, it was hilarious.’’

‘’Oh! I think I know who you’re talking about! …wasn’t he a reserve course student?’’

Chiaki’s shoulders slumped in defeat.

‘’oh, I forgot about your weird feelings about reserve course students, never mind then.’’

She was about to leave, but nagito grabbed her hand.

‘’Wait! I didn’t say I wouldn’t help you. That thing about the reserve course, I only dislike them because they bring no hope into this world.’’

‘’How would you know if you don’t meet them. Besides, all I do is play video games; I don’t see how that adds any hope’’

‘’But that’s different! You’re an ultimate!’’

‘’Smells like double standards. By the way, did you have a point to what you were saying?’’

‘’Yes, just because I have my reservations about reserve course students, does not mean that I hate them! Fuyuhiko’s little sister is very hopeful after all. And….’’

‘’And what?’’

‘’I don’t remember many interactions between him and me, but the few I have…I remember fondly. I don’t seem to remember why, yet he managed to make a good impression on me. Even before I started working through my issues.’’

‘’So, miss yukizome’s mandatory therapy sessions are doing you some good too?’’

‘’I guess you could say that, but I still don’t quite understand how I managed to get a superiority complex as well as an inferiority complex. Must be the bad luck to balance having such great friends like you.’’

‘’No problem nagito, you’re a great friend too.’’

Out of the corner of her eye, she spots fuyuhiko about to leave the classroom.

‘’Hey hey, fuyuhiko, where are you going?’’

He turns around with his usual irritated expression and she suddenly realizes that he’s holding a bouquet of pink camellias.

‘’Nowhere, just visiting my sister, what’s it to you anyway?’’

‘’Isn’t your sister a reserve course student?’’

‘’Yeah, what of it?’’

‘’Would you like to help me search for my missing friend? He’s from the reserve course, you’ve met him before, I think.’’

He looks like he wants to decline, but simply lets out a sigh of irritation before agreeing.

‘’Man, you really know how to push my buttons, you’re almost as bad as peko. How could I say no now?’’

He runs a hand through his stubbly hair.

‘’I think I know who you’re talking about. Hinata was it? First time I met him, the first thing he did was comment on my ‘’baby face’’ or whatever the fuck you call it. Hate to admit I remember the fellow…he used to be natsumi’s friend you know and fuck, did he play dirty at smashbros! How do you even get peach to round house kick someone that hard!’’

Nagito and chiaki try to contain their laughter at the memory of fuyuhiko’s ineptitude for super smash bros, the subsequent losses and the temper tantrums. Suddenly, fuyuhiko’s face twists into something akin to regret.

‘’Shit, I was so busy with trying to find the fucker that attacked natsumi, that I didn’t notice that he’d been gone.’’

Nagito looked gloomy too, all of a sudden.

‘’Things were very hectic around that time, though that’s no excuse for trash like me to overlook a tragedy.’’

Chiaki put a hand on both of their shoulders comfortingly.

‘’Don’t worry, with all three of us working together, I’m sure we’ll find him.’’

They both looked up at her gratefully. Fuyuhiko seemed to remember the flowers that he been holding.

‘’Guys? Can we continue this conversation in the hospital, I still have a visit to make.’’

‘’Sure, I can fill you guys in on what I’ve found out so far, on the way there.’’

‘’I feel honored to be included in such a hopeful venture! Shall we go?’’

* * *

Mission failure.

15% of facility searched.

The sting of failure bit Izuru hard, they were illogically angry. Night time in the facility was such a short window of time, so it was impossible to search the entirety of it safely all at once. And it was even more unlikely that he would find brother on the very first try. Nevertheless, they were filled with bitter disappointment. He was glad that his base of operations was so near to the facility, it truly did facilitate their mission. But it also felt unfair that they were the only one searching for their big brother. Izuru vowed to try again the next day.

* * *

‘’That’s fucked up!’’

The hospital room is quiet. They are all sitting in cheap plastic chairs, while fuyuhiko holds natsumi’s hand tightly. Chiaki bobs her head in agreement.

‘’I know right!? Something is definitely wrong…there’s no way he was just expelled and that’s the end of it.’’

‘’Yeah, this is definitely funky.’’

‘’Don’t you mean fishy?’’

‘’I said what I said, and I’m right.’’

‘’…we’ll ask peko about that later.’’

Nagito sighs sadly.

‘’This despairing situation sounds an awful lot like a kidnapping.’’

Fuyuhiko shakes his head.

‘’That would just bring up more fucking questions than answers.’’

‘’what do mean?’’

‘’Don’t get me wrong, hajime definitely knows how to put on a spotlight, but he’s pretty plain looking, he’s polite, he’s nice. The dude probably doesn’t even have a single enemy. I can’t think of a reason for anyone to kidnap him and it’s pissing me off!’’

‘’So…probably not a kidnapping.’’

Chiaki is put out like a light.

‘’And we’re back to square one.’’

Nagito suddenly lights up.

‘’What if we asked kamukura to use their hopeful talent to help us?’’

Fuyuhiko snorts out a laugh.

‘’I don’t know them very well, but judging by what I’ve seen, they’re most probably some sort of uppity bastard that doesn’t think reserve course students are worth their time. You know, like nagito used to be.’’

‘’Yeah, you’re most likely right.’’

‘’I feel like I’ve been insulted.’’

* * *

Chiaki taps peko on the shoulder.

‘’Hey peko?’’

‘’hmm?’’

‘’When describing a suspicious situation, do you say it’s fishy or it’s funky?’’

‘’fishy of course.’’

‘’Even peko has betrayed me…’’

‘’suck it up fuyuhiko.’’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're all in therapy because i said so.  
> Well...most of them.


	7. chap. 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, my update schedule is awfully sporadic.  
> Hope you all enjoy it nonetheless.
> 
> Shoutout to my favorite commenters, i don't want to mention you by name in case that makes you uncomfortable, but if you've commented more than two times, you know who you are... :))
> 
> tw for the last scene.  
> If you get triggered by sensative subjects, check the newest tags or stop reading at the line ''He had known that it wouldn't be pleasant...''

Ibuki is poking at her lunch, while mikan carefully blows on her ramen in an attempt to cool it down. She sighs for the thousandth time and slumps onto the cafeteria table, nearly knocking over her lunch. Looking extremely worried, mikan pats her head reassuringly.

‘’Are y-you ok ibuki? You’ve hardly touched your travis scott burger?’’

Ibuki’s muffled voice was heard from under a mop of colorful hair.

‘’Ibuki’s ok, it’s just- ‘’

She suddenly sits up.

‘’Ibuki really wants to talk to the new kid, but yesterday they disappeared right after class ended to go do who knows what!’’

She covers her face in her hands and sighs dramatically.

‘’Ibuki’s never gonna be able to talk to them…’’

Mikan smiles fondly at her lover’s antics.

‘’I’m sure that you’ll be able to talk to them, if you’re so w-worried maybe ask them if they want to make plans this afternoon?’’

As if struck by lightning, ibuki sits up completely straight and with stars in her eyes, turns to mikan.

‘’That’s it! You’re a genius babe!’’

She quickly kisses mikan on the cheek. Mikan turns red as a tomato and cups her face nervously.

‘’Ibuki…!” She whines. ‘’I told you what happens when you treat me so lovingly! Do you really enjoy seeing me flustered that much?’’

Ibuki simply grins and blows her a kiss, before getting up and declaring.

‘’I’m going to talk to kamukura right now!’’

She sprints to a table in the back of the cafeteria, which izuru is currently occupying, with no lunch in sight. As she arrives, they look up to acknowledge her. She puts her hands on her hips confidently.

‘’Would kamukura like to join ibuki in a jam session this afternoon? 3-ish? We can swap playlists and talk band drama!’’

Izuru is visibly taken aback, blinking a few times as if to confirm that this was truly reality. Eventually, they respond politely.

‘’At that time frame, I have a prior engagement.’’

Ibuki visibly deflates.

‘’…But I do not mind joining you for a ‘’jam session’’, after that.’’

She grins widely, then with the confidence of an Olympic medalist, points at izuru.

‘’Just you wait! We’ll be the best of friends!’’

Then she runs off to sit with mikan once more. Mikan questions her curiously.

‘’How did it go?’’

Ibuki puffs up her chest comically, looking like a cat who had just caught the canary.

‘’We’re having a jam session this afternoon. This is the best! First, I’ll get to know them, then we’ll be friends and eventually, maybe I’ll have another band member!’’

Cautiously picking up a noodle, mikan asks.

‘’Why do you want to talk to kamukura, anyway? They’re really s-scary…’’

‘’They’re not scary, just shy, I just know it! And besides, the shy ones are always the best. You’re the perfect example babe!’’

Mikan’s ears turn a bright shade of red, but instead of getting as flustered as before, she takes a huff of air before blurting out.

‘’Not as good as you, darling!’’

Instantly, mikan attempts to apologize, embarrassed by her outburst. But ibuki beats her to it.

‘’You finally gave me a pet name!’’

Ibuki’s cheeks are rosy and she seems to have ascended to heaven. Mikan just blushes harder at her reaction. They both stare dreamily at each other, completely alone in their own little bubble. Entirely unaware of the rest of the class looking at them with fond exasperation. Kazuichi grumbles bitterly.

‘’Man, I wish I had a girlfriend.’’

* * *

Izuru returned to the empty classroom after yet another failure. Granted they’d only managed to search 35% of the facility so far, but that only sounded like a mediocre excuse to his ears. They were supposedly the ultimate hope, why then, were they not instantly successful? What was the point of all these talents if it didn’t help them when they needed it the most?

Though they could not stay ruminating on his frustration for much longer, for the classroom was not entirely empty. Sure thing, after opening the door they recognized the presence of the ultimate musician. He had originally intended to decline her offer, but fond memories of talking to brother about music and the urge to know what a ‘’jam session’’ was, compelled him to accept. They sat next to her and she brightened, taking out her phone.

‘’Now that you’re here, we can finally hang out! Quick! Take out your phone so we can swap Spotify playlists! Ibuki can tell a lot about a person by their playlists you know.’’

Izuru barely understood her blabbering. Why was she talking about hanging someone so nonchalantly? What was a phone? What was Spotify? Should he have a playlist?

‘’Sorry, I appear to lack the ‘’phone’’, the ‘’Spotify’’ and the ‘’playlists’’, required for this activity.’’

Ibuki stared at him with wide eyes. The look in her eyes seem to be the same one she would have given him If they had committed a grave sacrilege, akin to sacrificing her best friend to a false god.

‘’You heathen, that’s blasphemy!’’

She holds up her phone to izuru’s face.

‘’Can you at least tell me what this is?’’

‘’Yes, it’s a small computer.’’

Ibuki seems slightly relieved, by just a tiny bit.

‘’ Don’t worry, it’s not too late to atone for your sins. ibuki will make you a playlist on my phone, ibuki will be your salvation.’’

She taps on a tiny green square on her phone and turns back to them.

‘’Alright, what’s a song you like? …You must at least have songs you like?’’

She gives him a look that seems to convey that if he were to tell her that they knew no songs, it would be equal to running over a puppy. Thankfully, izuru had plenty of songs they enjoyed.

‘’I enjoy the songs; you are my sunshine, twinkle twinkle little star, au clair de la lune, somewhere over the rainbow as well as row, row, row your boat.’’

Ibuki looks at him curiously, gears working up in her noggin.

‘’Kamukura’s favorite songs are all lullabies…Not that ibuki’s judging! They all rock. Just wondering if there’s any reason why?’’

‘’They are simply the first songs that I’ve listened to, I suppose it could be attributed to nostalgia.’’

She nods in understanding.

‘’Ibuki gets the feeling, I like the song; baby it’s cold outside, just because my gorgeous girlfriend sang it to me, when I was sick once.’’

Izuru visibly softens.

‘’…It is true that all the songs I’ve mentioned, are attributed to my big brother.’’

When ibuki had invited izuru, she had wanted to get to know them and prove that they weren’t mean, just shy. But now that hypothesis was out the window, izuru wasn’t just shy, they were a big ol softie!

‘’You have a big bro? Cool! Tell me about him!’’

That seems to have been the right thing to say, based off the fact that izuru immediately lit up and started talking with stars in their eyes, as if they were a kid in a candy store.

‘’My brother is the kindest person in the entire world! He is smart, gentle, considerate, thought-full, self-sacrificing, - ‘’

They faltered, then continued softly.

‘’He was fun, doting and full of affection. In all honesty, there is not a single word in the dictionary that describes how much I care about him or how much I wish he were here right now…’’

She puts a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. He seems surprised by the contact.

‘’ There there, it’s normal to feel homesick. You’ll have to introduce me to your bro one day, he sounds amazing!’’

‘’You want to meet by brother?’’

‘’Of course, I want to meet my friend’s bro!’’

‘’I’m your friend?’’

‘’Well, not yet. But ibuki totally wants you to be! You’re fun to talk to so far, so I’m sure we’ll be friends by the end of the day!’’

Kamukura simply blinks at her, then enters a state of contemplation. After a moment, they respond.

‘’I wouldn’t mind that.’’

Ibuki gives them a blinding smile. They gave her a small smile in return and that just made her smile wider.

Minutes trickled into hours and by the time izuru had left the classroom, he’d left with a spare phone, 6 playlists on ibuki’s Spotify, a new vocabulary of the coolest slang, 15 barrettes, a promise to meet up tomorrow and a new tentative friendship.

* * *

The next day, mikan and ibuki are having their usual lunch date. The rest of the class are almost all sitting at the gigantic table next to them. As usual, ibuki is doing her best to talk about anything and everything she can think of and trying to remember to eat. While mikan listens intently and feeds ibuki when she’s being particularly stubborn. Soon enough, the topic shifts to her afternoon with kamukura the previous day.

‘’Were they simply shy, as you thought? Did you get along?’’

Ibuki smiles knowingly.

‘’They’re my new best friend! I don’t get why everyone thought they were scary, they’re actually a big ol softie!’’

‘’That’s good to know, I would talk to them myself, but I’d r-ramble and annoy them.’’

‘’That’s malarkey! Izuru taught me that word by the way. I know for a fact that you could ramble on and on about that super complicated medical mumbo jumbo and izuru would probably respond with more medical sciency gobbledygook.’’

‘’Really?’’

‘’Yeah, they have a really specific set of knowledge for like super specific things. Plus, they’re really eager to learn new things, so I think you’d have a great time!’’

‘’Maybe I should talk to kamukura, if you don’t mind me tagging along with you two, later?’’

‘’I don’t mind at all.’’

It appears that the class had been eavesdropping on their conversation, although in bits and pieces, for kazuichi cut into their conversation.

‘’Why are you guys talking about kamukura? Did they threaten you or something?’’

Fuyuhiko backed him up.

‘’I don’t care how powerful they are, I won’t let them pull that shit.’’

Sonia apparently also caught wind of what they were talking about.

‘’They are right, no matter the danger, we will not let any harm come to our lesbians!’’

Ibuki just laughed.

‘’You guys got it all wrong, izuru may have seemed like the terminator the first time we saw them, but they’re actually a care bear!’’

There was a second of incredulous silence.

‘’You know, a big softie!’’

Kazuichi just leveled her a look.

‘’Sure, they are ibuki, I totally believe that the emotionless robot we saw is actually a sweetheart.’’

Nagito added unhelpfully.

‘’Kamukura is the ultimate hope, not a robot.’’

Soda just continued.

‘’My point still stands, I’ve never seen the dude smile, let alone do anything but be intimidating and I’m sure I’m not the only one. You really expect me to believe that the new kid is actually the friendliest person in the world along with a heart of gold?’’

She just smirks and calls izuru over to her. Izuru arrives with no clue as to what is going on, but on ibuki’s side nonetheless.

‘’Hey kamukura, did you braid your own hair or did your brother do it for you?’’

Most people look confused at the mention of a brother, while izuru answers as if there was no crowd.

‘’My older brother often braided my hair and taught me how to do myself, though I rarely apply this knowledge.’’

‘’Why not?’’

‘’Father does not approve of many things. There is no doubt that father would not approve of my hair being braided. So, the activity became a thing that I could only do with my brother, without father’s watchful eye. Doing it without my brother feels like breaking a tradition.’’

‘’You really love your brother, don’t you?’’

Izuru smiles fondly, clearly revisiting memories. Everyone else, from kazuichi to fuyuhiko to nagito to sonia, can only stare in shock at the display of emotion. Ibuki pats izuru on the head and smiles proudly.

‘’You’ve all been blinded by your hubris and have missed the opportunity of being the friend of the adorable force that is izuru kamukura! It is too late now, for I have adopted them and shall be their guide in this cruel, cruel world.’’

Gundham stops feeding his dark deevas of destruction to look affronted.

* * *

After that demonstration, a lot of people came to talk to izuru that lunch break. Akane came to chat, noticed he had no lunch and vowed to introduce them to the wonderful world of food. Mikan had started a very enlightening discussion on pneumothorax. Ibuki and gundham had a staring contest to decide who should bear the title of the over the top, dramatic parental figure. Sonia showed them her entire collection of imported teas and poured them a glass of rooibos tea. Kazuichi asked for advice on geometry. Finally, the aptly named gamer squad, minus ibuki, composed of chiaki, nagito and fuyuhiko, approached him. First, it was nagito rambling about hope as always, while chiaki played on her 3ds and fuyuhiko sized him up from behind.

‘’It is so wonderful that the ultimate hope should have a brother just as hopeful! I bet that their talent is just as inspiring!’’

Izuru felt the need to correct him.

‘’That’s incorrect, my brother does not possess a talent.’’

Nagito looks like he’s just been slapped with a fish.

‘’But he brings you such hope! How could he be talentless?’’

Izuru simply leveled him a look.

‘’The way you talk about hope, is very reminiscent of father. Hope is a concept, not a tangible thing. I may be the ultimate hope, but what brings me hope has never been my talents, it has always been my brother.’’

Glancing down at his cup of tea, they continue.

‘’What truly matters in life has never been talent. If I were told to choose between my brother and my talents, I would choose my brother without hesitation. For my brother would continue to love and care about me, regardless of my talent.’’

He looks up to stare directly into nagito’s eyes.

‘’From the way you speak, it appears that you truly believe that only the talented are capable of giving affection and validation. Do you not have anyone in your life that cares for you beyond your talent?’’

Nagito is speechless. He sits down and stares at his hands, perhaps rethinking life choices. Occasionally, you’ll hear him mutter about talent and hope. This officially makes three talentless individuals that bring as much, if not more hope to this world, than their talented counterparts. It’s times like these that he’s glad he has a therapist. Definitely rethinking life choices.

While nagito has a midlife crisis, fuyuhiko hesitantly approaches izuru.

‘’You really don’t give a fuck about talent?’’

They simply nod.

Fuyuhiko opens his mouth to say something, then shuts it. Chiaki elbows him from the side. Grumbling, he massages his side, then asks izuru.

‘’Does your talent include knowing how to wake up people in comas?’’

* * *

He had known that it wouldn’t be pleasant, but it still hurt like hell. It feels like it had been his first operation all over again. Perhaps in the spirit of accuracy, he’s also curled up on the floor, clutching his head and crying like a baby. His head aches, is scar is burning, his scalp is beyond irritated. It hurts so much that he doesn’t notice that his nails have dug so deeply into his scalp, until fresh blood pours from the wounds, down his forehead. He doesn’t bother to wipe the blood, what’s one more level of filth? What was the point? There was nobody left to judge him, nor to wipe his tears. He was totally and utterly, alone.

While he’s still in the mood to think, there is nothing he looks forward to less, than getting his talent. Now, he finally has an idea of their goal. They want to create the ultimate hope. They want a tool, not a human. They want another izuru, not hajime. When everything is all well and done, he’ll probably have a talent, or talents, but it won’t be him. If he’s learnt anything from this place, it’s that nothing they do will lead to anything good. Sure, he might become an ultimate, but he’ll be so scarred, so broken, so empty, that he might as well be a walking corpse. Or, maybe they’ll damage his brain to the point that he loses himself, loses his ability to feel, to think, to remember. No matter which way he looks at it, he’d be as good as dead. Suddenly, he sees himself hitting his head violently against the wall. He imagines blood staining gray wallpaper and dripping onto the floor while he bashes his head rhythmically. It hurts immensely, then everything stops. He sees his body slump to the ground and land with a thud. The scene is beautiful in a way, the red against the grey like an abstract painting.

Somehow, the idea of dying doesn’t bother him as much as it used to, as much as it should.

What was so good about living anyway?


	8. chap. 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who is following this story and anyone who has ever enjoyed it. I never thought i would enjoy being a writer as much as being a reader, but here we are. The story is almost finished, just 3 chapters to go and i look forward to a grand finale.
> 
> I might write a fluffy sequel to this, but that's up in the air.  
> Anyway, here's the new chapter!

‘’Does your talent include knowing how to wake up people in comas?’’

‘’Hypothetically, yes.’’

He tried his best not to sound too eager.

“Could you wake up my sister?”

* * *

Why in the world did he think entrusting his sister’s life in the hands of a stranger was a good idea? Don’t get him wrong, he trusts ibuki and her judgement, but this just gave him a bad feeling. The more he thought of it, the more it seemed like a total scam. Izuru insisted that since they were busy this afternoon, they’d do it immediately. How was that not suspicious? Even for the ultimate hope, waking up someone from an indefinite coma, in just a matter of hours, should be a stretch at best.

As Fuyuhiko sits outside the hospital room, engulfed by the unpleasant, but familiar, smell of antiseptic. He tries desperately to resist the urge to rush into natsumi’s room. Everything around him was getting loud and overwhelming. The sound of people walking, the beeping of monitors in open rooms, the infuriatingly saccharine sweet voice of nurses dolling out terrible news. All of it made him want to flee, to be anywhere but here, as if it was screaming at him to run in there, fuck the consequences.

All of a sudden, he notices that his foot has been lightly tapping the floor. That his leg has been shaking ever so slightly. He places a hand on his thigh to force it to stay still, but the damage has already been done. Shaking his leg was a nervous tick of his. A habit he crushed years ago, in order to gain respect. He hadn’t had a nervous tick in years, he hadn’t been nervous, period. Not when natsumi was first brought to the hospital, not when she slipped into a coma, not when he couldn’t find her attacker, not when he feared she’d never wake up, not when he realized that no amount of anger was going to bring his sister back, not even when he’d visit her and grip her hand a little too tightly, as if she was going to disappear… Ok, maybe he’d been a little anxious, even then, but it was always overshadowed by his anger. When he should’ve been scared to lose her, he simply felt enraged that someone had dared attack her. When he should’ve felt grief, he simply felt fury. He groaned internally. Why the fuck does he have a therapist! If he didn’t have a therapist, he wouldn’t be so self-aware, it’d be a whole lot easier to suppress his emotions. But now, he’d slipped up and let a nervous tick of his resurface, making him look weak in front of Chiaki. What’s next? Crying his eyes out like a little bitch?!

Although, even if he cried and whined like a baby, Chiaki wouldn’t call him out for it. She wasn’t the type to tease people for uncomfortable displays of emotion. She’d probably even comfort him, if given the chance. He scoffs at the thought, as if he’s the type to need comfort? He’s the ultimate yakuza for fucks sake! He needs to just man up and stop thinking about meaningless things.

So, he does what he does best, make himself angry. He thinks about his search for the attacker and its fruitless results. The security tapes that had been wiped clean. The lackluster performance from the police, they hadn’t even found any fingerprints for him to steal. The fact that his father had forbidden him from extrapolating information, the forceful way. With some bullshit excuse about how natsumi would be pissed if he took drastic action and it had indeed been an accident. His only lead had been that chick sato, but mahiru vouched for her and the trail stopped there. Wouldn’t it be funny if it really had been sato? Well, funny for him, not funny for her, she’d be dead.

Suddenly, he hears the door open. They’re done. Izuru says something to Chiaki but he’s not listening. He looks at their faces to gauge the severity of the situation, but he forgot that Chiaki and izuru were the two most emotionless people he knew, so it didn’t help that much.

He enters the room alone. Izuru has left for the aforementioned plans, something about a daily routine and a playdate with ibuki and mikan, while Chiaki waits politely in the hall behind him. His heart pounds uncomfortably loudly as he crosses the threshold and turns to look at her bed, prepared to see her unconscious body. When he notices that she’s sitting up, awake and rubbing her eyes irritatedly.

Any semblance of cool he thought he had, was now out the window. He can’t breathe, all he can do is stare in shock at the miracle, not moving an inch. Natsumi stares at him. Her blond hair is even longer than he remembers.

“what’s got your panties twisted into a bunch?”

She squints at him.

“Why are looking at me like that? You look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

It’s really her. She’s actually awake. There is no way his imagination is this accurate. It hits him all at once, the situation he’s in. All he can do is try to keep the tears building up in his eyes from falling down his cheeks. He’s grasping at the last scraps of dignity he can manage. It seems like he’s not doing too good of a job, because natsumi is looking at him, frowning in confusion, maybe even a tad concerned.

“What’s up with you? What’s wrong?”

When he doesn’t manage to respond, she looks around. She seems to have just realized where she is, if her wide eyes are any evidence. Confusion is etched into her frown. She holds a hand to her head.

“Why am I in a hospital? What happened…”

Like a light bulb, she lights up in realization.

“That bitch!” She snarls venomously.

Shaking himself out of his stupor, the need for revenge has resurfaced and he asks hurriedly.

“Who’s the fucker that attacked you?!”

She narrows her eyes, hatred swirling in her irises.

“It was that bitch sato! I told that asshole not to mess with me!”

Ah. Confirmation. Ready to enact his revenge, he makes his way to leave. But before he can get very far, natsumi calls out.

“Hey! Wait! We can pummel that bitch later, tell me what the fuck is going on, first!”

Reluctantly, he sits down at a chair beside her bedside.

“Alright, what do you want to know?”

She rolls her eyes.

“Obviously I want to know what happened. All I remember is her bashing in my skull, nothing else.”

“Well, someone found you before you bled out and brought you to the hospital.”

She looks at him, utterly unimpressed.

“Yeah, I figured, what with the whole hospital room and the not being dead thing.”

He hesitates for a moment.

“…and you were in a coma.”

“A coma? Holy shit! That’s so cliché, did someone hold my hand while I was asleep or some shit?”

He looks to the side broodingly.

“…maybe.”

“How long was I out for? A few days or something?”

“I don’t know exactly how long,-” that was a lie, he knew precisely how many days she’d been in here. But she didn’t need to know that. “Something like a couple months.”

“Holy Hannah! A couple months!? I missed so much school! …wait, does being in a coma count as a good excuse not to do homework?”

Seeing her so cheerful and vibrant makes his heart ache. Something must show on his face, because she suddenly becomes awfully concerned.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

At this point, he’s barely keeping the tears at bay.

“It’s just…we thought you’d never wake up.”

By the time he chokes out those words, the dam has burst. He’s not frowning, he’s not sobbing, there’s barely any emotions registering on his face. But tears are streaming down his cheeks.

Her features are etched with shock.

“I think this makes this the second time I’ve ever seen you cry…come here.”

He looks at her through blurry eyelids, to see that her hands are extended in an invitation for a hug. He doesn’t even realize he’s moved until she’s wrapped up in his arms. He tries to wipe his tears on the back of his hand.

“It’s ok, don’t hold back. It’s only natural that you’ve missed the ultimate little sister!”

He holds onto her until his eyes have cried several years’ worth of tears. When he can finally find the strength to form a coherent sentence, he lets go. Once he steps back, natsumi looks softer than he’d ever seen her, just for a moment, before returning to her normal, slightly aggressive demeanor. She smirks.

‘’A couple months huh. I bet that loser was at my bedside every day, crying like a little baby.’’

Obviously ignoring his sudden outburst in favor of keeping his pride intact, she turns to look at him.

‘’Hey! What day of the week is it? I hope it’s a Tuesday.’’

She laughs at a joke that she’s yet to make.

‘’Wouldn’t it be funny if I showed up after one of his classes? We’d have a touching reunion; people would freak out thinking I was dead and a ghost or some shit. He’d probably faint out of shock then hug the shit out of me, once he woke up.’’

He can’t bring himself to say anything to wipe that smile off her face.

‘’It’s the weekend, Sunday, actually.’’

‘’Big, cliché, dramatic reunion, is out the window then. I guess I’ll have to track down his dorm room.’’

Her face is the absolute opposite of what it had been for months, cheerful, playful, hopeful, alive.

‘’Do you know hajime’s dorm number?’’

This is not the conversation he thought he’d be having, but if he doesn’t tell her and she finds out herself, it’ll be a thousand times worse.

‘’About that…’’

She looks up a him, irritated.

‘’What? Spit it out! Did that idiot suddenly think that he’s too good for me or something? Out of all the times to grow a backbone, it had to be when I was fucking asleep!’’

‘’It’s not that…it’s just…’’

She gestures for him to keep going.

‘’Hajime’s gone missing.’’

Instantaneously, all the color has drained from her face. She’s frighteningly pale. She doesn’t seem shocked as much as she should be, instead, she’s a touch surprised, but mostly horrified. She’s starts shaking, gripping the white sheets of the hospital bed a little too tightly and refusing to look him in the eye. She mumbles miserably.

‘’I turn my back for one second and you become a fucking disappearance! What the fuck hajime! …Why aren’t you here?!’’

The way she refers to the fact that he’s disappeared, strikes fuyuhiko as odd. But he doesn’t dwell on it. Right now, all he can do is try to reassure her, however futile.

‘’He might still be alive, you know.’’

Out of everything, that’s what shocks her.

‘’So, you haven’t found his body!’’

‘’His body? No, he’s just disappeared without a trace.’’

She doesn’t seem relieved at all to learn this fact, instead her expressions grows into something akin to determination.

‘’So, there’s a chance. No matter how small…there’s still a chance.’’

‘’Don’t worry. I’ll find him.’’

She raises an eyebrow.

‘’What do you mean by that?’’

He scratches his neck awkwardly.

‘’Well, chiaki’s been trying to find him and sort of recruited me and nagito the other day, so…between the three of us, I’m sure we’ll find him. Just stay here and recover, let your older brother take care of it.’’

He gives her, what he hope’s to be, a reassuring smile. Natsumi just scoffs at him.

‘’If you think I’m going to just sit here while my friend is freaking missing, then you got another thing coming!’’

She rips off the hospital blanket.

‘’We are gonna need a whole fucking search team if we’re going to find that dork and if you find him and I’m not there, he’s going to think I don’t care about him. As if I’ll let him doubt our friendship, that insecure twat is going to be found alive, I’ll fucking make sure he’s the first!’’

She lifts herself and hops out of the bed. Leaning on the wall and standing on wobbly legs.

‘’I’m joining your stupid squad, end of story! Let’s find hajime hinata!’’

He’s immediately at her side, helping her stay steady.

‘’You idiot! All right! You can join the search, just. At least take it one step at a time, okay!’’

At that precise moment, chiaki pokes her head in the room.

‘’Cool. Izuru gave us a new member.’’

She smiles. Natsumi simply frowns.

‘’Who the fuck is izuru?’’

‘’A new classmate of ours, they’re the ultimate hope to boot. They’re also the one who got you to wake up from your coma, by the way.’’

‘’A miracle worker, cool, bet that weird classmate of yours has been all over them.’’

She huffs out a laugh, then steadies herself into a more serious expression.

‘’But we have more important things to worry about.’’

She looks at chiaki.

‘’Let’s have a team meeting.’’

* * *

Natsumi is fiddling with some grass. They’d decided to have their meeting outside on the back yard lawn. She’s listening intently to what chiaki says, but every piece of information is just confirming what she’d already assumed.

Chiaki takes a deep breath.

‘’And that’s everything I’ve found out so far.’’

Her brother is scowling at the ground.

‘’Yeah, and no matter what we do, we can’t seem to find any rhyme nor reason for it.’’

She chuckles humorlessly.

‘’He’s obviously a disappearance, of course there’s no rhyme nor reason.’’

Fuyuhiko gives her a look and the other two, both look at each other in confusion.

‘’A disappearance…That’s what you called it back in the hospital too. What’s that supposed to mean?’’

…Did they really not know? Just another reason for the reserve course to resent them, I guess.

She shakes her head in disappointment.

‘’I shouldn’t be surprised that you fucking ultimates don’t have a clue.’’

Nagito looks at her with wide eyes.

‘’What does being an ultimate have to do with anything?’’

She sighs. She doesn’t know everything, most of it is second hand information she got from hajime, but it was all true. Best to burst their bubble sooner rather than later. She looks around them cautiously, searching for any sign of an eavesdropper. Then answers in an uncharacteristically quiet voice.

‘’In the reserve course, we have something called, the disappearances.’’

‘’The disappearances?’’ Chiaki echoes.

‘’Let me explain, at random, reserve course students will go missing. You can tell it’s a disappearance when every single trace that the victim has ever had at this school, is erased. And I mean, literally, everything.’’

‘’That does sounds like what happened to hajime…’’

She grows somber.

‘’Those disappearances only ever end in one of two ways.’’

She holds up a finger.

‘’One, they are found outside of the school, having being brutally murdered. Or,” She lifts a second finger. “number two, they are never seen nor heard from ever again.’’

They’re all looking at her as if she’d grown a second head. But she forges on.

‘’By the sounds of it, hajime’s case is the second scenario. Nobody has ever been found alive, so when we find him, it’ll sort of be historic achievement.’’

Nagito is fiddling with his hands nervously while giving her a look of disbelief.

‘’That…that can’t be true. It’s just, there’s no way something like that has been happening at hope’s peak. Especially to someone as nice as hajime…’’

Chiaki is sitting beside him, looking absolutely grief stricken while also simultaneously grasping at the last threads of denial.

‘’He’s right…that makes no sense. It couldn’t be…’’

Although this kinda tugs at her heart strings, she needs them to fully understand the situation if they’re going to achieve the impossible.

‘’Why do you think everyone suddenly forgot he existed?’’

Chiaki doesn’t answer.

‘’It’s because, there’s been a case, where someone tried to find a disappearance and were a bit too vocal about it, only to end up disappearing themselves.’’

All three of them look nothing short of flabbergasted. She takes pity on them and softens her next words.

‘’Look, finding him might be near damned impossible. But I also don’t think ultimates have ever contributed to search efforts. So, we might be the best fucking team there’s ever been.’’

She gives them a slight smirk.

‘’Let’s make him the first survivor.’’

Chiaki manages to compose herself. She forms a resolved look.

‘’I’ll do whatever it takes.’’

She looks besides her at the two, slightly catatonic boys.

‘’You ready to join me?’’

Nagito gives her a fragile, shaky smile and fuyuhiko nods with newfound fervor in his eyes. Chiaki then turns back around to face natsumi.

‘’What do you think we should do?’’

‘’Search every nook and crany of this school.’’

‘’That’ll take an awfully long time, but it’s manageable. Ok…let’s get to work.’’

* * *

Ibuki explodes the confetti canon the moment izuru walks into the cafeteria. He simply blinks at her and shrugs their shoulders to shake off the excess.

‘’Hey izuru~!’’ She practically sings while mikan giggles behind her.

‘’What were you up to that was, so important, that couldn’t hang out with me sooner?’’

‘’A matter of grave importance. I’ve completed 50% of my search so far.’’

‘’What are you searching for?’’

He starts meticulously picking out the confetti on his hair and placing it delicately in ibuki’s.

‘’Something very dear to me.’’

‘’That’s a weird coincidence!’’

‘’What is?’’

‘’The gamer squad, you know, chiaki and the gang. They’re also looking for something, were awfully vague about it too. They all came in here to search for it, just in case, or whatever that meant. I wonder what they’re searching for?’’

‘’I wonder too.’’

‘’Wouldn’t it be funny if you were all looking for the same thing?’’

‘’A humorous thought, yes, but highly unlikely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the gamer squad has officially gained a new member!


	9. chap. 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter seems a little lackluster, but it's essential before we get to the star of the show. Even so, it was fun to write and i really needed something fun to do after my great grandmother died. But enough about that, i'm really pumped to write the next one, so you probably won't wait long. :))

Izuru had been a member of class 77 for more than a few days now, nearly a week, even. Originally, they had joined this class, purely to facilitate the search of his brother. But now, izuru could say that he genuinely enjoyed the company of his classmates, namely ibuki. Which is why, today, they agreed to meet up with ibuki at lunch, rather than after school, as per usual. You see, they had thoroughly searched 97% of the facility in all the time they attended at this school. So tonight, at approximately 3:30, night time in the facility would begin and so would, the moment of truth; the final search. Cautiously optimistic, izuru believed that tonight would be the night they would finally be reunited with their big brother. Even as the possibility of finding his mutilated corpse, loomed in the vicinity. Izuru would rather have a lighthearted time before the inevitably emotional results of tonight’s search, rather than after. So, they sat on of the many uniform chairs of their homeroom, waiting for ibuki, mikan and possibly akane. Sure thing, soon enough, all three of them arrived and every single one of them, had a lunch of some kind.

‘’Hey izuru!’’ cheered ibuki.

Each time she greeted him, it sounded like she was honestly excited and delighted to see them. It made izuru’s heart warm, in a way he thought he’d never experience without his brother.

‘’H-hello.’’ Mikan mumbled.

‘’Yo, kamukura!’’ The newest addition, akane, exclaimed with the wave of a hand. From what they’d seen of her so far, she’s a very passionate person with a fondness for food, of any and all kind.

‘’Why don’t you have a lunch?’’

Izuru blinked in surprise. Out of every new-fangled thing that were introduced to them after their escape, lunches are one that he never quite understood. With utmost grace, they replied, only slight confusion betraying his tone.

‘’As the ultimate hope, I do not require the same amount of nutrients as the average individual. As such, I choose not to engage in acts of self-indulgence and luxury, such as lunches.’’

She creased her eyebrows in confusion.

‘’I get that having a lunch is a privilege, but we have a cafeteria. Here, Lunch isn’t a luxury, it’s essential.”

‘’It isn’t? How odd, I could’ve sworn…’’

Ibuki looks at him worriedly.

‘’Izuru? When was the last time you ate?’’

‘’I believe it was a few days ago…’’

‘’And what did you eat?’’

‘’A protein shake given to me by this fellow by the name of nidai.’’

‘’…That’s not a proper meal.’’

Akane steels herself and declares.

‘’That’s it, I’ve heard enough. I’m getting you something from the cafeteria! What’s your favorite food?’’

Izuru had learnt from ibuki, that one’s favorite things often stemmed from experience. In addition, wanting to experience something could not constitute as someone’s favorite thing, as they had yet to experience it. With this knowledge in mind, there was really only one option that could be their answer.

‘’Plain, nutrient and calorie rich, oatmeal.’’

‘’…I don’t think we have that in the cafeteria. Anything else?’’

Izuru immediately thought of hajime’s favorite food. They figured it wouldn’t hurt to try it, just this once.

‘’Kusamochi.’’

Akane gave him a determined nod, then rushed to the cafeteria. In a matter of minutes, she returned with some green kusamochi and thrust it into their hands. For a moment, all izuru could do was stare at the small blobs of dough. Eventually, though, their curiosity got the better of him. They took a small, hesitant bite and instantly light up, their mouth exploded with flavor, it felt as though he had just learned all the secrets of the universe. Izuru looked up at akane and whispered gratefully.

‘’Thank you…’’

Akane looked very surprised by their reaction, but responded bashfully anyways.

‘’Aw shucks, it’s nothing.’’

Then, playfully added.

‘’Anytime you don’t have a lunch, you can always tell me and I’ll get you something.’’

They only nodded in return, having already taken another bite. The group eventually sat down and ate while making pleasant conversation. Izuru had started chatting with mikan about the hereditary implications of heterochromia, because ibuki had started arguing with akane, about humor, of all things.

‘’Just because a joke involves hyper pop doesn’t mean it’s funny.’’ Akane told her through a mouthful of sandwich.

Ibuki looked at her side ways.

‘’As if you’re one to talk, you only ever laugh at impostor’s jokes.’’

‘’So? They’re a funny dude with funny jokes.’’

‘’They all involve food.’’

“touché, but food is just funnier than music, that’s all.’’

Ibuki grumbles.

“subjective much…’’

Akane holds a finger to her chin.

“You know, objectively, the ultimate hope would have the least subjective view of comedy.”

Ibuki bobs her head in agreement.

“yeah, you’re right…’’ She gives akane a smug grin. “and if izuru’s joke is about music, you’ll have to admit that Ibuki’s humor is obviously superior.”

“And if it’s about food, then I win.’’

They shake hands, then declared in unison.

“Let the funniest have the last laugh.’’

They interrupt izuru’s in depth exploration of DNA to gain his attention. Mikan looks more confused than upset, if anything. Ibuki, confident as ever, playfully asks izuru.

“Tell us a joke, oh almighty one.’’

Izuru complies without a trace of hesitation.

“Why did the duck cross the road?” He paused for dramatic effect. “To prove they weren’t a chicken.”

Ibuki groaned.

“No! Ghundham can’t be funnier than me! Tell another one.”

Izuru didn’t understand why their joke was not satisfactory. So, he decided to go another route.

“What do you call a punching bag with feelings?... An idiot.”

The two girls looked at them with a bit of reproach. Izuru was only confused by their reaction.

“Was it not satisfactory? I thought you might better enjoy my brother’s humor.”

Ibuki gave him an unreadable look, only the slight frown of her eyebrows betrayed her confusion.

“So that last joke, was one your brother made? Is his humor always like that?”

“What do you mean?”

Ibuki pointedly ignored their question.

“Could you tell us another joke he’s made?”

“Alright…”

Izuru took a moment to think.

“You know what, izuru? I think I used to be a bear, because the pain was un-bear-able!”

All three of them stare at him in morbid shock. Nobody in the room had expected a joke quite like that, it had been a complete surprise. So much so, that mikan accidently dropped her iced tea. Izuru appears to have missed their reactions, since they immediately stood up to fetch mikan another one as well as rags to clean up the mess where the tea had spilt. Once he’d left, the rest of the group noticed that lunch time was almost over and, as such, they probably wouldn’t have enough time to talk to izuru before class. Akane turns to ibuki.

“This is just a hunch, but I get the feeling that izuru’s bro isn’t ok.”

“I think I get what you mean…”

* * *

Later that day, during the last hour of class, ibuki ran into chiaki in the hall. Chiaki had never been the most aware of her surroundings and ibuki always had her head in the clouds when she was thinking hard about something, this was only a recipe for disaster. Fortunately, they simply startled each other instead of a full, head-on collision. Chiaki had been about to simply pass by her and head to the music room, where she was to search during their break. But, the look on ibuki’s face caused her to reconsider. She looked nothing short of disturbed and chiaki couldn’t, in good conscience, leave a friend in need.

‘’Are you ok ibuki? What’s bothering you?”

She seems both hesitant and relieved, all at once.

“well, you know izuru’s bro?’’

“Yeah, I think. I’ve heard them talk about their brother in passing a few times.”

“Me, akane and mikan, we don’t think he’s doing too good…”

Chiaki, confused as hell, replies.

“What do you mean?”

“Since the first time Ibuki talked to izuru, the way they spoke about their bro was always weird, in a ‘I miss him’ sort of way. But now, they’ve been talking about him in a more, ‘my brother needs help’ sort of way and it’s kinda freaking me out. It really sounds like their bro is not ok.”

“That’s unfortunate, I wonder what is causing them distress...”

A thought suddenly crossed her mind.

“Isn’t izuru’s brother talentless?”

“yeah.”

“Do you think it’s possible that they’re a reserve course student?”

“I dunno, maybe…”

‘’And that izuru misses him?”

“Yup, that’s right.”

Oh no.

“I need to tell the squad.”

Chiaki attempts to leave ibuki behind and rush to the library, the place where they agreed to regroup after their respective searches. But ibuki follows her as she runs off.

“Hey! Wait up! Where are you going? Do you know something about izuru’s bro?”

Chiaki doesn’t answer any of her questions, just keeps running. Ibuki’s not too far behind despite chiaki’s head start, thanks to her incredible stamina. Soon, they reach the designated meeting spot, the small library. Once they enter, chiaki is relieved to see that everyone is there. Nagito’s reading a book in the corner and natsumi and fuyuhiko are having a conversation near the archive. The noise the door makes when she slams it open, alerts them all of her presence. Natsumi takes one look at both chiaki and ibuki.

“What’s got you all riled up? And what’s the ultimate musician doing here?”

But chiaki doesn’t give anyone a chance to deviate the conversation.

“I think izuru’s brother might be a disappearance!”

That got natsumi’s undivided attention.

“What!? Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure. They might even be doing a search themselves; we could help them and they could help us with our search in return!”

Fuyuhiko appears to be a little reluctant.

“I don’t know if we should…how can you even be sure that they would help us? Even if their brother is a disappearance, doesn’t mean that they’re searching as well.”

Ibuki doesn’t hesitate to put in her two cents.

“Well, ibuki has no clue what you are all talking about, but izuru is searching for something, that I’m 100% sure.”

“Searching for someone?”

“Searching for something very important and very dear to izuru, and as you all know; their big bro is both of those things.”

Nagito seems very pleased by this development. A smile stretches across his face.

“So, we could feasibly join forces!”

Natsumi agrees.

“We should track down kamukura and recruit them.”

Chiaki takes nagito’s hand and runs out the door without a second to lose.

“Then, let’s go find them!”

* * *

After about 20 minutes of searching, they locate kamukura in front of the main building. They appear to be headed off campus, in the forest that surrounded the buildings from all sides.

“Hey izuru! What are you doing here?” Ibuki called out.

Izuru turned to them and was caught off guard to see not only ibuki, but a plethora of others.

“Hello to you as well, pray tell, what might you be all doing here?”

Before ibuki had a chance to answer, chiaki cut to the chase.

“Looking for you.”

That seemed to shock him even more.

“Whatever for?”

“To recruit you. We’re looking for a missing friend of mine and we heard that you might be searching for your brother. If we joined together, we could find them both!”

Izuru was pleasantly surprised.

“I’m afraid that I no longer require assistance looking for my brother, for I have come to the end of my search, but I appreciate the thought.”

Fuyuhiko nodded apprehensively.

“So, you are searching for your brother…”

Natsumi crossed her arms in thought. Then addressed izuru again.

“So, you know where your brother is?”

“Yes.”

Natsumi turns to rest of the squad and tells them in a hush whisper.

“It’s possible that hajime may be where izuru’s brother is…”

Chiaki whispers back.

“If we go with them, maybe we could find him.”

“It’s definitely worth a shot.”

Chiaki turns away from her squad to give izuru a pleading look.

“Can we come with you? My friend could be there too.”

“You may accompany me if you wish, I find no reason to reason to reject company. Though, it is unlikely that they are both in the same location. But as long as it does not detract me from my mission, I do not mind helping you find your friend.”

Chiaki nods, utterly gleeful at the prospect that they could possibly find hajime.

“Yeah, that sounds cool.”

Although definitely out of the loop, ibuki does understand that izuru’s brother is missing. Knowing that, there is no way she isn’t tagging along for moral support.

“ibuki’s definitely coming along!”

Nagito is smiling wider than chiaki has ever seen him.

“Ultimates joining together with a common goal! This is the epitome of hope! Who knows what we could accomplish together!”

Natsumi grumbles, sounding unconvinced, but the smile on her face betrays her.

“As long as this side quest doesn’t derail us from our goal.”

Fuyuhiko crosses his arms and adds determinedly.

“Sure, let’s go find your brother. I owe you one for waking up my sister.”

Izuru smiles, then heads in the direction of the forest, one that is mostly off limits.

“Follow me.”

They all head to the back of the building.


	10. chap. 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Behold my masterpiece...

After a while of walking, the woods undoubtedly getting denser the farther they went, they reached a part of the forest that was off-limits to students, that nobody was allowed to venture to. Izuru lead the way, with ibuki, chiaki, nagito, natsumi and fuyuhiko trailing not too far behind. After some time, the back of the main building was in view and so was a door that they’d never noticed before. None of them could recall ever seeing a door like this in the main building, which meant that it didn’t lead to anywhere familiar, that it shouldn’t lead to anywhere, that it shouldn’t be there. Chiaki regarded the door curiously.

“Are you sure this is where your brother is?”

“Yes, if he isn’t here…then it’s too late.”

Izuru stopped in front of the door to address the rag tag team that had joined him.

“I have already searched the entirety of this facility, save for 3%. I did not encounter anyone, including my brother in my searches. So, if your friend is indeed in this place, we would find them near the location of my brother.”

Natsumi, taking charge, replied.

“Alright, anything else?”

They thought for a moment.

“Don’t make any sound.”

Without any more warning, izuru opened the door. The door was an off-white color, same as the walls surrounding it, so much so, that at a distance, it was barely noticeable. It was a heavy, bulky, thick door that resembled those of walk-in freezers. The kind that wouldn’t have opened so easily, so noiselessly, had it been anyone but izuru. The kind of door that once it closed, there was no hope of it opening, no matter how much you struggle. The kind of door that made people afraid of entering walk-in freezers, for fear of it closing on them and leading them to a cold and painful death.

The natural light shining from outside, partially illuminated the stairs beyond the door. From what they could see, the staircase was at a steep incline, as if whoever built it knew that a ramp from that angle could cause sudden death. Anything that wasn’t doused in light was drowned in a deep, endless darkness. The kind of darkness that children were convinced hid monsters. Everything about what was beyond the door, was anything but inviting. However, izuru didn’t leave any of them even a second to hesitate, as he crossed the threshold, then turned around only to beckon them forward, so that he could close the door behind them.

One by one, they walked down the incredibly long staircase. Every step down became a literal shot in the dark, as the door was closed and no light of any kind escaped its grip. It felt like the smallest misstep would cause them to tumble to their death. Nagito especially, felt the brunt of this anxiety, afraid that even the smallest amount of bad luck would lead to them dying in this unfamiliar place without even a proper funeral, for their bodies might never be found. Chiaki must’ve heard his erratic heartbeat or, more likely, perhaps his panicked breathing, for she grabbed a hold of his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

Eventually, the steep staircase was replaced with solid floors. They walked in the solid darkness, trying their bests to silence their small, nervous footsteps, even as they echoed on the dingy concrete floor. Unintentionally, nearly everyone held their breath, afraid even breathing could constitute as noise. Nagito held Chiaki’s hand tightly, getting more anxious by the minute. Fuyuhiko would have done the same with natsumi, but couldn’t see the floor in beneath his feet, let alone be certain that natsumi was indeed directly in front of him. Even ibuki made a conscious effort to soften her footsteps, feeling inexplicably uncomfortable in this strange place.

Even if they couldn’t see anything, the smell was overpowering, unmistakable. It smelled like the antiseptic that coated mikan’s hands when she was working. It smelt like the stale air on long nights without sleep, like 3 am and quiet desperation. It smelt like bad luck, like disasters, like death, like destruction, like grief, like a scab that was never allowed to heal. It smelt like coper, like anger and frustration, pain and suffering, a hint of blood hidden underneath an overwhelming flurry of emotions. If you took a deep breath, you could even smell the thin layer of dust that coated almost everything, like a blanket of regret settling on your shoulders. Needless to say, that was enough to put them all on edge.

Ultimately, they arrived at a spot with significantly dimmed lights. But what the meager lighting revealed, was enough to make them question everything they knew. It revealed that they’d been walking down a long and winding corridor. On their left was simply a bare concrete wall. But on the right, were standard prison cells. It looked like it came straight out of a movie. Walls of rusted prison bars in front of small, cramped, unsanitary cells. They were in awful condition, dirt covering the floor in a thin sheet, scuffed walls with the occasional patch of dampness, damp from what, wasn’t a question they wanted the answer to. They kept walking past the grey cells, desperately trying to prepare themselves for the worst, because izuru hadn’t stopped, this wasn’t their destination.

Ibuki had to bite back a scream when she accidentally stepped in a puddle of dark liquid. She managed to muffle her scream, but the sound of her hand slapping her mouth was enough to alert her classmates. At first, her reaction had seemed overdramatic, until they realized that the liquid was red, that this was a puddle of blood. Everyone stood as still as statues, unable to process what they’d just seen. Natsumi’s breath caught in her throat, fear climbing its way into her heart. Izuru turned back around to lend ibuki a helping hand, helping her stumble her way out of that goopy liquid despite her shell shock. He appeared unconcerned and simply trudged on, moving the group forward. One by one, they side stepped the puddle to avoid soaking their shoes in something… or someone else’s blood and matching ibuki’s now bloody footprints. Ibuki spent a good portion of her energy trying to keep her breathing steady, in an effort to avoid flying into a blind panic, even as the blood stained her shoes and seeped into her socks. Making it so that with every step, she could feel her foot dyeing red and the blood start to crisp under her soles. But the worst of it, was the blood that had started to mingle with her sweat, which made it so that every step forward was punctuated with a small, but sickening squelch.

It probably hadn’t been more than a dozen minutes, but it felt like they’d been walking for hours. The longer they walked, the farther they went, the more twists and turns they took, the more it seemed like they lost themselves in this incomprehensible maze. Occasionally, izuru would pick the lock on a random cell and inspect it, but it never yielded results. Chiaki hoped that nothing has ever used those cells, in a misguided attempt at optimism, but she knew better. Dread pooled in her stomach.

After some time, they took a turn to walk down a dead end. They stood there uselessly as izuru started his search once again. For every cell that izuru searched, he had the same routine. First, pick the lock, inspect the cell, then disappear into the bathroom. Their face never betrayed any glaring emotions, impassive as ever, but fuyuhiko swore that he looked more and more frustrated with every failed attempt. So, when izuru entered the third farthest one on the right, no one expected any results. But when izuru returned, this time, they weren’t alone. They emerged, holding a body in his arms, bridal style. Perhaps if they were looking at the scene objectively, they would have noticed that izuru was cradling them in his arms like a porcelain doll, as if the slightest pressure would break them, as if they were the most precious thing in the world. But all they could focus on, was the state of the body. The person was dressed in a standard hospital gown, but it didn’t do anything to hide the overwhelming number of cuts, bruises, gashes, scars, incisions, puncture wounds, rug burns and stitches that littered their entire body. Nothing was left untouched, not the arms, the hands, the legs, the feet, nor the neck and there is no doubt that the face wasn’t spared either, but it was impossible to check. For the head had been tucked in izuru’s chest, cradled in a gentle hold. The face was also obstructed by ragged strands of thick, long brown hair. It was in utter disarray, matted, greasy and tangled, as if it hadn’t been washed in months, perhaps more. Although, the most disturbing aspect would have to be the blood that seemed to cling to their being, almost like a second skin. It clung to their hair in dry clumps, trickled from their wounds at random and stained beyond repair, what might’ve once been a pristine white surgical gown. The body in izuru’s arms was limp, unmoving and severely injured. For a good second, they were certain that izuru was holding a dead body in their arms, a corpse in need of a grave that izuru had taken pity on. But, much to everyone’s relief, if you looked closely, you could see the faint rise and fall of their chest. They were alive, maybe just barely and definitely not in the best of conditions, but very much alive.

Ignoring all of their horrified stares, izuru spoke to them softly, whether to avoid alerting anybody else that might be in this awful place or to avoid disturbing the peaceful sleep of the one in their arms, was unclear.

“Unfortunately, there is no sign of your friend, I must offer my condolences. But, for now, we must depart, my brother is in need of medical attention.”

Wordlessly, they followed izuru out of the terrifying, nightmare inducing facility. Looking beyond their, now very rational, fears and their horrified shock, they could only dwell on what they had just discovered, even if they knew very little. They had found izuru’s brother, just in the nick of time it seemed. But, hajime, was probably dead, if anything they’d just witnessed was any proof.

* * *

The moment mikan saw izuru’s brother, she flew into a panic. Chiaki had never seen someone so flustered and panicked, while also being, professional and efficient. The brothers were both whisked off to the nearest infirmary, for izuru’s brother needed immediate treatment and the hospital was too far way. Izuru tagged along with them, as they refused to leave their brother’s side. The gamer squad just retreated to their homeroom.

Chiaki collapsed in a chair, suddenly exhausted, emotionally or physically, it didn’t make a difference. She was sore from that tense walk and consumed by premature grief. The rest of the gamer squad, plus ibuki, sat next to her. She could tell from their pained expressions that they were all thinking the same thing. Hajime was dead, they were too late. Whatever had happened to him, it must’ve been horrific and it must have ended in a painful death. She starts to shake and tears build up in her eyes, her hands too unsteady to even attempt to brush them away. Chiaki prays, that at least, maybe he had been saved by the sweet embrace of death from a life of pain and that his soul was finally at peace. The thought should have brought her comfort, but it only caused her to drown further into her own sadness. Sobs wracked her body as she held herself in a desperate, last ditched effort to keep herself together.

Natsumi wasn’t doing much better. From the corner of her blurry vision, chiaki could see that she was curled up in herself, holding her head in her hands and crying loudly. Sniffles, hiccups and whimpers were the only sounds that seemed to be able to leave her mouth. Fuyuhiko had pulled her into his arms, rubbing her back in an attempt to sooth her, even as tears of his own started slipping down his face.

Though, focusing on other’s grief did nothing to distract her from her own. It felt a thousand times worse than when he had first disappeared, because now, there not a single shred of hope left that he could be alive.

She felt a hand on her shoulder just as she had started to fold into herself, unable to care about things like posture in her grief. She lifted her head to see nagito, he wasn’t crying, but his eyes were mournful in a way that reminded chiaki of when he spoke of the horrible things that had happened due to his luck. She didn’t know if it was because he blamed all of this on his luck, because he hated to see her in pain or if he felt genuinely sad that a friend of his, for however briefly, had died. Maybe it wasn’t any of those reasons, maybe it was all of the above. Anyhow, she tackled him in a hug, equal parts to comfort him and herself. He held onto her just as tightly in return and they hugged as if being apart would cause either of them to fall apart. Honestly, maybe it would, and they couldn’t take that chance.

* * *

Ibuki was at a loss at what to do. Izuru was in the infirmary. Izuru’s brother was seemingly on the brink of death. The gamer squad was practically falling apart at the news that the one they were searching for was probably dead. She only felt useless, standing around a handful of her friends that she couldn’t hope to comfort.

So, she left the classroom and headed to the infirmary, to check up on izuru. Feeling irrationally anxious, the otherwise short walk to the infirmary, took no time at all. She carefully turned the doorknob to see mikan fretting over her patient’s multiple wounds and wrapping everything in sturdy bandages. She wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up looking like a mummy when she’s done. Izuru was observing the process from the corner, they looked mournful and elated all at once, it was quite the combination. When he noticed that she’d arrived, they moved to stand next to her, gesturing to the unconscious body with a smile.

“Ibuki, meet my brother. Once he wakes, I’m sure he’ll be delighted to meet you as well, though it is possible that you’ve already met.”

“So that’s your brother…this is not how I thought I’d meet him.”

Suddenly, something occurred to her.

“What do you mean by <it’s possible we’ve already met>?”

Without batting an eye or taking his eyes away from their brother, they answered.

“My brother was once a reserve course student, so I imagine that he’d have to have had the opportunity to meet you.”

“Oh. That makes sense.”

A comfortable silence settled between them.

“Do you really think that it’s impossible that there was nobody else in…That place.”

“Yes.”

“Can you at least try to comfort them? Ibuki has no idea what to do, they all look so devastated…”

“I can try.”

Ibuki gives him a grateful smile.

“Thanks.”

* * *

Just as ibuki had said, they all looked positively miserable. Izuru felt a pang of pity, that they wouldn’t be able to have the same happy reunion that izuru would. He approached the short haired gamer girl first, as she looked arguably the most distraught, and sat down next to her.

“I am sorry.”

For whatever reason, that was the first thing he said to a downtrodden chiaki. All she could manage to do, was mumble back miserably in response.

“What for?”

“For failing to live up to my end of the bargain, I said I would help you find your friend after all.”

“Don’t be sorry, at least we found your brother. It could’ve been much worse, they could’ve both been…” chiaki takes a shuddering breath. “gone.”

Izuru smiles gently.

“I know this isn’t any consolation, but I think you would get along very well with my brother.”

“It’s ok…and thanks, for trying, but I don’t think I’ll be able to accept consolations of any kind, for a long time.”

“That’s understandable.”

Due to her exhaustion, she wasn’t eager to think nor talk about depressing things and so, she changed the subject.

“Speaking of your brother, what’s his name? I don’t think I’ve ever heard him referred to as anything but your brother, though I could be wrong.”

“No worries, his name-”

At this moment, chiaki wasn’t expecting anything life changing. In her mind, it wasn’t anything of importance, a throw away question if you will. She had simply been trying to ease the mood, for her and her heavy heart. But, had she known what the answer would be, she would’ve asked this question a long time ago.

“-is Hajime Hinata.”

It felt as though time itself had stopped. Chiaki could only stare in pure, unaltered shock, her mouth agape. She could barely think over a mantra of: [He’s alive. He’s alive! He’s alive!!], that echoed in her head. There were so many things she felt the urge to do in that moment, cry, tackle izuru into a hug, scream, laugh, run to the infirmary and hug the shit out of hajime. But she knew better than to get ahead of herself, it wouldn’t be the first time her mind played tricks on her, especially in moments of grief. Restraining herself from jumping to conclusions, she asks shakily, a slight tremor in her voice.

“D-did you j-just say that your brother’s name is H-Hajime Hi-Hinata?”

He looks a tad confused by her reaction.

“Yes, that’s what I just said. That is indeed his name.”

She starts crying once more, though this time, they’re tears of joy. She giggles, then starts chuckling, soon she’s laughing heartily. A smile stretches out on her face that’s so wide; it stings. But she can’t stop, even if this hardly counts as a normal reaction. Though, is there really any normal reaction in regards to a miracle? She feels utterly gleeful, overwhelmingly happy, a stark contrast to minutes before.

Seemingly out of nowhere, natsumi is by her side, rubbing her back soothingly.

“It’s ok, calm down chiaki, I know you miss him, I do too, but you gotta keep yourself together. You can’t fall apart now.”

Through her gleeful giggles she tries to correct her.

“No, hehe, you’ve got it all wrong. He’s alive!”

Natsumi’s lip wobbles slightly.

“Chiaki…you’ll have to confront the fact that he’s dead someday, so try to save yourself the trouble.”

Chiaki grabs natsumi by the shoulders.

“No, you don’t get it! Hajime’s alive because izuru’s brother is alive! Hajime is izuru’s brother!”

Although doubt clouds her vision, natsumi can’t help but hope pathetically, even when the more logical part of her whispers that it’s probably nothing more than a misunderstanding. Unintentionally holding her breath in anticipation, she asks izuru.

“Is what chiaki’s saying, the truth?”

Izuru looks a bit exasperated at her doubt.

“If you mean that my brother’s name is hajime hinata, then yes. How many times do I have to repeat myself?”

Natsumi stares at izuru for a moment, all wide eyes and drying tear tracks.

“I need to go see him.”

She takes chiaki by the hand and helps her up from the ground. Then shouts to nagito and fuyuhiko, her voice harsh and bewildered all at the same time.

“Get the fuck up, right now! We’ve found hajime!”

She runs out of the classroom, still holding chiaki’s hand, and rushes to the infirmary with chiaki stumbling behind. Very confused and in desperate need of context, the two boys rush to catch up to natsumi and chiaki, following her all the way to the infirmary.

“What the fuck is going on natsumi? What are you doing?”

Fuyuhiko shouts at her from behind, running at full speed to just to be able to barely keep up with her. She doesn’t even acknowledge that she’s heard him until she nearly runs into the door of the infirmary. Even then, all she manages to say to him through her frantic breathing, is;

“Izuru’s brother! Dumbass…”

“What about izuru’s brother.”

Chiaki answers him with a blissful smile.

“Hajime is izuru’s brother!”

“You’re kidding, right?”

He holds his head, looking absolutely bewildered.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…all this time.”

Nagito looks nothing short of flabbergast.

“So, you’re telling me, that izuru’s brother and hajime hinata are the same person!?”

Natsumi cut in.

“Izuru confirmed it themselves, so it’s true.” She gestures to the infirmary. “Let’s go, I need to see that dork with my own two eyes.”

So, she burst through the door, nearly giving mikan a heart attack. Soon enough, they are all sitting around his bedside, mikan has left to give them some privacy. For a while, all any of them can do is stare at hajime’s unconscious body. He’s still wearing that dirty surgical gown, he’s covered from head to toe in bandages, barely any skin is showing. But, aside from that, it is undoubtedly hajime. From the curve of his jaw to his freckled nose. One good look at him and it’s impossible to miss it. Chiaki takes his limp hand and holds it up to her cheek, smiling and crying tears of relief.

“You’re alive!” She sobs. “You’re really alive!”

* * *

Izuru entered the infirmary calmly.

“You requested my presence?”

Natsumi rolled her eyes.

“No shit.” She gives them an intimidating stare. “We need answers. What the fuck was that weird-ass place?! What happened to hajime?!”

Chiaki piped up.

“And I don’t recall hajime having a brother…”

Izuru creased their eyebrows slightly in confusion.

“The hope cultivation plan, of course…I would have thought it was obvious?”

Nagito looked positively insulted.

“What caused this was <The hope cultivation plan>? How is any of this hopeful?”

Fuyuhiko ignored nagito.

“What in the ever-loving fuck is the hope cultivation plan?”

He gave them all a weird look.

“Do you not know of the hope cultivation plan?”

All he got was blank stares in response.

“Then allow me to explain, first of all, the goal, the purpose if you will, of the hope cultivation plan, was to create the ultimate hope.”

“But you’re the ultimate hope…”

“In the simplest terms, I was not born, I was created. For I am a clone-” They gesture to hajime. “a clone of my brother.”

The group was stunned speechless. Chiaki looked indignant.

“But what does hajime have to do with any of this?!”

“My brother, hajime if you wish, was originally referred to as subject 36. He is, what one would describe as, a victim of unethical human experimentation.”

Much to izuru’s surprise that caused them to all burst into tears once more. Natsumi composed herself slightly in between sniffles, to turn and ask him.

“I don’t know if I really want the answer to this, but why was he called subject 36?”

“Well, there have been countless attempts to create the ultimate hope, I am considered the first successful one.”

Natsumi looks nothing short of enraged

“So, they’re all dead, all those students…dead. All because of this bullshit plan!”

Chiaki held his hand a little tighter.

“Not that I’m not grateful, but if what you’re saying is true, how is hajime here right now?”

“Brother is something of an anomaly, he was the attempt before me and by all accounts, he should have been disposed of. But we met regardless and I hid him from father. After some time, he became my big brother.” The thought made izuru smile. “In fact, the only reason I am currently above ground, is that I promised him I’d escape if he ever…disappeared.”

She laughs a little at that.

“Yeah, that sounds like the type of selfless thing he’d say…”

Natsumi cracks her knuckles.

“I think we’re getting off track here, I don’t know about you, but I think whoever orchestrated this fucking nightmare of a shit show needs to be put down like a sick mutt.”

Chiaki looks positively furious.

“I agree, the people who did this…they need to pay.”

Nagito clenches his fists.

“This despair must be stopped.”

Fuyuhiko crosses his arms.

“There is no way I’m gonna let this go without some sort of revenge.’’

“If it revenges you desire, -” Izuru smirks. “I already have a plan and I do not mind including you all in its execution. On the one condition, that we wait till hajime wakes.”


	11. chap. 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is!  
> The grand finale...

The kuzuryuu siblings walk down a corridor in the main building, heading back to the infirmary. Natsumi checks the time on her phone and sighs in annoyance.

“Man, that took a lot longer than I thought it would.”

“Yeah, you’d think that hitmen wouldn’t have any problems finding photos and school supplies.”

Fuyuhiko starts to grumble and says mockingly.

“I don’t care if it’s ‘not your expertise’, there’s a first time for everything. Plus, I’m paying you!”

“I get what you mean, just because all you know is how to kill, doesn’t mean you can’t multitask, like jeez!”

Chiaki runs up to walk beside them, nagito in tow.

“You two are all done already?”

Natsumi just grins.

“Hell yeah, it was easy as pie, just a few dumbos we had to guide like little ducklings. You?”

Chiaki smiles proudly.

“Nagito and I had a great time! Turns out he has quite the eye for detail!”

Nagito laughed bashfully, a tad embarrassed.

“You flatter me, but you and kamukura did most of the work in the end.”

As if summoned by the mere mention of their name, izuru appears beside him.

“So, if the preparations are done, we must hurry back before hajime wakes. No time to waste.”

“Yeah, I agree.”

“I would rather avoid the scenarios that might happen if we don’t.”

Chiaki looks at him curiously.

“What do you mean by that?”

They hear a pair of frantic footsteps coming from the hallway on the next right. Izuru lights up and rushes ahead.

“That’s him!”

* * *

The first thing he saw when he woke up, were blinding white lights. That in itself wasn’t unusual, he does occasionally wake up during operations. He could recognize that unnatural lighting anywhere. But what was strange, was the distinct lack of pain. Don’t get him wrong, he was aching, his body was sore as hell. But that’s just the thing, he was sore, as in, technically not currently in pain. Usually, when he woke up like this, he would immediately feel sharp, burning sensations wherever they decided to focus on that day, followed by extreme and intense pain. Probably a headache to boot. But he wasn’t currently hurting at the moment. There was no way in hell that they suddenly decided to give him anesthetics. They never did in the past, why start now?

He lifted his hand to rub at his eyes, anything to clear up his vision. Then he slowly got up, groaning in pain. Suddenly, the lack of pain wasn’t the only unusual thing about this situation. He wasn’t tied to the operating table… he wasn’t even on an operating table!? He was in a bed, how in the world did he find himself in a bed? He didn’t even have a mattress in his cell! No doubt the strangest thing had to be the bandages. He was completely covered in them, even his injured fingers had been meticulously wrapped in clean bandages. When had they ever decided to treat his wounds? Maybe they wanted him in semi-good condition before he keeled over and they had no more test dummy? That had to be it, there’s no other explanation. Besides, he was surrounded by medical equipment, this had to be a recovery room or something. Maybe one of their past subjects had died before they could try to make them the ultimate hope? Though, he had to say, this approach was flawed. Without restraints, he could easily escape…The thought hit him like a hammer to the head. He could escape! He felt giddy all of a sudden. Today might be the day he gets to see the sun! He could even see chiaki or izuru, maybe even visit natsumi. That is, if they’d even want to see him…He pinched his arm to ground himself. There would be time to worry once he…if he escaped.

Hajime slowly got up from the bed. It was almost a shame to leave it, especially when his sore limbs seemed to scream at him just for moving an inch. He’d like to say he walked towards the door, but it was more of a desperate stumble. He hadn’t walked properly in a while, pacing in his cell only did so much. To add to that, the bandages made his legs stiff and hard to bend. Although it was probably more to do with his own personal weakness that anything else, he hadn’t been the most fit before the hope cultivation plan, so it would be a miracle to be moving so easily after deteriorating so goddam much. He struggled a tad with opening the door, but thankfully, it wasn’t as heavy as they usually were. The hallway outside made him pause for a second. He didn’t recognize these hallways, though, maybe his memories were a tad hazy. Perhaps this is just how the corridors look like when the lights are all the way on? He took a deep breath. If walking to a door six feet away was hard, he shuddered to think of how hard it would to find the exit. Though, if he ran, maybe he could just run-on adrenaline and find the exit before he collapsed? It was worth a try, better than just wasting this opportunity and just laying down and hoping for the best.

Using the frame of the door as support, he launched himself into a run. He ran as fast as he could, cursing his shaky legs and his loud footsteps. Hoping with all his might that nobody finds him. But luck wasn’t on his side it seems, because he heard footsteps coming from the turn ahead on his left. He came to a halt, it was too late to backtrack now, he wouldn’t be able to make it back to the bed in time and there wasn’t anywhere to hide. He was done for. He broke out into a cold sweat, as the footsteps grew closer and closer, until they finally rounded the corner and he saw…

“izuru?!”

It was izuru, wearing the same suit they usually did. The same long brown hair, maybe even a tad longer. Those same piercing red eyes and composed demeanor. Though maybe not so composed, for they immediately lit up at the sight of him and ran at full speed in his direction. Frozen in place, he barely had the time to blink before izuru had wrapped him into a hug. The hug was firm but also incredibly gentle. Tears built up in his eyes, despite the initial confusion, before he returned the hug and buried his face in izuru’s hair. After a moment, Hajime forcefully composed himself. They didn’t have the time for a heartfelt reunion, not yet anyway. He pulled away reluctantly, still in izuru’s arms, but now able to see their face.

“Izuru, what are doing here?! I thought you escaped?”

Izuru just gave him a look of confusion.

“I did escape.”

“But why did you come back!?”

Understanding flooded izuru’s face, before he visibly softened.

“I did escape, I went above ground and made friends. Currently, I am above ground and so are you.”

“Wait…Then what is this place?”

“The main building of hope’s peak academy.”

“Why would I be in the main building, unless…”

It took him a moment to connect the dots.

“Wait…you saved me?”

“Of course, I did.”

He still can’t seem to quite understand.

“I…I thought I told you to escape and never look back, to be happy.”

Izuru looked at him fondly.

“You should have known that I could never fully abide by those conditions.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“I am currently content, but I would never truly be happy without you.”

He pats hajime on the head affectionately.

“I could never leave you behind.”

That set off the waterworks. The thought that izuru hadn’t even considered leaving him behind, leaving him to die, it brought tears to his eyes. Tears of relief, tears of shock, tears of happiness, it didn’t matter, they were still tears, in the end. He hated crying, it had never done him any favors, it had never brought him any relief. When he was little, he was discouraged from crying, for crying meant that he was being childish and petty. As he grew older, someone had admitted that it was because he was an ugly crier. In his early teen years, when he felt sad and completely alone in this world, he’d cry in the bathroom and hope that someone would notice that he’d been crying and reassure him that things would get better. But no one ever did, somehow, no matter how hard he cried, it never showed on his face. He couldn’t remember anyone ever comforting him besides izuru. So, it shouldn’t have been a shock when izuru started to delicately wipe away his tears. They looked so concerned, for him. They were concerned about him and that just made him cry even harder. To hide his shameful display of emotion, he buried himself in izuru’s arms once more. Selfishly hoping that izuru wouldn’t let go. He murmured quietly to himself.

“I can’t believe you would go back, just for me…”

Though it must have been louder than he thought, since izuru responded.

“I looked for you every single day, and I wasn’t the only one.”

“I didn’t think anyone was looking for me, let alone you. Who else would be trying to find me?”

But before izuru could respond, he heard a shout.

“Hajime!!”

He knew that voice. It was a voice he thought he’d only ever hear in his dreams. He peaks over izuru’s shoulder to see chiaki running towards him as fast as she can. He barely notices that izuru has let him go, in his state of shock. Before he can even comprehend what’s right in front of him, let alone convince himself that this was actually real, he’s tackled to the ground. He hits the floor, hard. But, can’t seem to mind, completely preoccupied with the girl sobbing into his shoulder. He eventually returns the hug, but instead of comforting her, it only seems to manage to make her cry harder.

“Chiaki? What’s wrong? What are you doing here?”

But it’s not chiaki who responds.

“What’s wrong!? Don’t play dumb, we fucking missed you, that’s what’s up.”

He looks up to see natsumi glaring down at him.

“Natsumi!? What? How is this possible?”

He blinks a few times.

“Is this a…dream?”

Chiaki has finally managed to stop crying for long enough to reply.

“It’s not a dream! You’re okay, you’re alive!”

She tightens her grip around him.

“I missed you so much, I’m so sorry we didn’t find you sooner.”

“You two were also looking for me!?!”

Natsumi scoffs.

“Not just us, these dorks too.”

She points to two people right beside her, natsumi’s older brother, fuyuhiko and chiaki’s classmate, nagito. This just serves to confuses him more.

“Why would you two be looking for me?”

Fuyuhiko scowls at him.

“Look here, you insecure dork,-” he quotes natsumi. “maybe we weren’t as good as friends as you and my sister, but we were more than acquaintances. Acquaintances don’t get away with teasing me and beating me at smashbros, alive. You were a chill guy that was fun to be around, do you really think I would just sit back and let you die in a ditch somewhere without so much as lifting a finger to look for you? Have some faith in me dude.”

Nagito follows up with an awkward smile.

“I know that you probably don’t want to be friends with trash like me and I completely understand! But I couldn’t let someone like you stay missing! You’re so hopeful! Besides, you once called me your buddy and I-” he blushes. “I guess I read too much into that and thought maybe we were…friends.”

“What happened to me being a worthless reserve course student?”

He looks a bit embarrassed.

“A few months of therapy and a voice of reason helped me understand that my beliefs were a tad…misguided.”

Natsumi gives him a look.

“Why are you so surprised to see that people care about you? Did our friendship mean nothing to you?”

“What?! No! It’s just, I never thought I would ever see you, so lively, ever again…”

She softens a tad.

“Well, I get that. You have your little bro to thank for that.”

Izuru holds his head up high, obviously proud of himself. Hajime just chuckles.

“Wow, this scenario really feels like a dream.”

Out of the blue, chiaki detangles herself from his arms. Looking like she just realized they were on the ground.

“Oh my gosh, hajime are you ok? Did I hurt you? I’m so sorry, here let me help you up.”

She takes his hand and steadies him as he tries to stand. He succeeds but is essentially standing on wobbly stick like legs. He winces in pain and he goes to rub them soothingly. Unfortunately, that makes chiaki panic even more.

“Are you in pain? Should you be moving? Should you even be standing? Here, let me carry you.”

He immediately protests.

“What? I don’t need you to carry me, I’m perfectly fine!”

Natsumi scoffs.

“As if anyone would believe that.”

Chiaki seems to have taken it to heart, because she suddenly scoops him up and carries him like a bride, as if he didn’t weigh a thing. Despite it being very comfortable, he protests again.

“Chiaki I’m fine, I can stand on my own.”

But she doesn’t listen to him. So, he looks at natsumi for her support.

“Natsumi, please tell her that I’m not that injured, I’ve had worse after all, this is nothing!”

She turns to chiaki.

“When you get tired, I’ll carry him for you.”

He looks at her incredulously, then turns to izuru.

“Izuru, please convince them that I don’t need to be coddled, it doesn’t even hurt all that much.”

Izuru looks at the three of them.

“I am very proficient at carrying my brother, so would please inform me when my shift commences.”

The epitome of shocked, he holds a hand over his heart in mock hurt.

“The betrayal…”

He looks at fuyuhiko and nagito.

“Don’t tell me you agree with them? That you’d carry me?”

Fuyuhiko nods.

“It’s all part of the recovery process.”

Nagito is slightly flustered.

“Of course, I would! But not if you didn’t want me to!”

Hajime just sighs and cozies up in chiaki’s strong arms, might as well get comfortable.

“When did you get so strong chiaki?”

“I didn’t…you’re just dangerously thin hajime.”

He doesn’t know how to respond to that. Fortunately, he doesn’t have to, for nagito absent mindedly snaps his fingers, grabbing everyone’s attention.

“oh! I nearly forgot! You all head back to the infirmary, I’ll get sonia’s reunion tea and biscuits that she made us.”

* * *

That’s how he finds himself back in the bed, holding a cup of rooibos tea in his hands and a plate of biscuits in his lap.

“It’s nice to see that you made friends izuru-” he gestures to the other people in the room. “are they who you were talking about?”

“While it is true that we get along swimmingly, my bestie, is ibuki mioda.”

“Wait, your, bestie, is the ultimate musician? That’s kinda funny that you and your best friend share the same favorite talent.”

Chiaki looks at him worriedly.

“You really should finish your biscuits hajime.”

Natsumi backs her up.

“Yeah, you gotta get some meat on those bones.”

He starts to nibble on a biscuit. Fuyuhiko looks him up and down, then sighs.

“They’re right you know, you’re as thin as a stick! You’re going to need all kinds of therapy, physical and otherwise.”

“Why would I need therapy?”

They all look at him incredulously. Natsumi is the first to try and refute him.

“Are you kidding me?! After everything those assholes did to you! Of course, you need therapy!”

“Stop talking as if I’m the victim, it was my fault for agreeing to it in the first place. I only have myself to blame for it turning out this way. If I hadn’t been so worthless-”

He’s cut off by chiaki shoving a biscuit into his mouth. All she does, is look him dead in the eyes and say;

“I’ll get miss yukizome to schedule you a session as soon as possible.”

He’s too busy chewing to disagree. Nagito looks at him sadly and shakes his head.

“Bullying yourself? Not cool hajime.”

He takes hajime’s, now empty, plate of biscuits.

“I’ll go get some more biscuits from sonia. Maybe she’ll be in the art room.”

He winks exaggeratedly before leaving.

* * *

It had barely been a dozen minutes since nagito left, when, all of a sudden, the fire alarm rings throughout the building and someone bursts through the door. An ultimate with short red hair.

“There’s a fire in the art room! Someone made a bonfire out of sato’s stuff and all of my photos, somehow??”

Nagito is right behind her, obviously distraught.

“The fire has spread to the outside of the building! We need to evacuate now!”

And so, izuru scoops him up and runs out of the building. The others split up to convince everyone to evacuate before the fire starts spreading faster and becomes deadly. But once they all got outside and got a good look at the building, something was off. Hajime squinted his eyes, before realization struck.

“Wait, the building isn’t on fire!? I don’t even see any flames on the outside walls…”

Izuru carefully pulls out a tiny machine with a red button out of their pocket.

“What is that izuru?”

Ignoring him, they pressed it firmly.

The main building erupts into flames, completely engulfed in one roaring fire. Thankfully, there was nobody in it. Though he was proven wrong when smoke started billowing from the back of the building, somewhere in the forest, and screams and shouts were heard in the distance. A lot of people were very confused, because nobody should have been left in the building. Hajime looked up at izuru.

“Izuru…did you do this?”

They only nodded.

“But you’re the ultimate hope! Why would you burn down a building!?”

“While it is true that I am the ultimate hope…I sincerely hope with all my heart, that’s father, his superiors and his colleagues, all burn to death. Preferably in an excruciatingly painful manner. They deserve it for what they did to you.”

“So, you did it for revenge…”

He looks at the burning building and sighs.

“Somehow, I can’t find it in me to be mad, can’t really blame you for feeling vindictive. Probably would have done the same if I had been given the chance, in the past…”

Chiaki stands next to them and smiles proudly.

“We did a good job didn’t we.”

“Wait, you helped with this!? Did the others help too?”

Natsumi ruffles his hair.

“Hell yeah, we did!”

Nagito smiles at the burning wreckage.

“The only thing that is better than arson, is arson in the name of Hope!”

Fuyuhiko laughs.

“Yeah, anyone who spouts crap like; revenge is bittersweet, has never committed arson before. The only bitter thing about this, is that we didn’t do it sooner.”

Hajime can’t believe what he’s hearing.

“So, you were the ones that burnt that girl’s pictures and her friend sato’s stuff?”

Natsumi only snickers at that.

“Yup, sato’s the bitch who attacked me, so it’s only fitting.”

“Wow, that’s what you settled on as your revenge? I would have thought Fuyuhiko and you would go straight to murder.”

Fuyuhiko looks at the crumbling building wistfully.

“I was going to go down that route, but natsumi introduced me to a new concept by the name of psychological torture.” He smirks. “Let’s just say, that someone’s going to be receiving a lot of disturbing phone calls tonight.”

Hajime was unsure on how to respond to that. He looked around confused.

“How come nobody, but the people who have evacuated, have noticed that there’s a fire? Why hasn’t any of the staff called the firefighters?”

Chiaki tucks a strand of hair behind her ear innocently.

“Well, earlier we had a long chat with the principal and may have said a few choice words. We tried to make him understand that we wouldn’t let him sweep this under the rug, but he refused to take us seriously.”

Her eyes take on a dark look.

“We need him to understand that this is only the beginning. If he so much as looks in your direction, there’ll be so much more than just arson.”

The happy sparkle is back.

“So, we had ibuki and mikan distract him so he wouldn’t notice this.”

* * *

Meanwhile…

Jin Kirigiri cowers in his office chair.

“I told you! I didn’t know!”

Ibuki snarls at him and holds mikan back from jumping at him again. Enraged mikan struggles to free herself from ibuki’s hold and shouts at him.

“You really think we believe that you fucking shitty asshole!!”

“I didn’t have anything to do with that plan, I swear!”

“That’s rich, coming from you. Of course, you wouldn’t want to be held accountable for your actions like some crappy politician. Are you afraid for your reputation? Your job?”

She continues, practically shouting at him.

“Does the Geneva convention mean nothing to you people!”

* * *

It’s almost picturesque. Hajime is nestled in izuru’s arms, fuyuhiko, natsumi and chiaki are standing beside them, all admiring the beautiful view of a slowly incinerating building. Nagito wonders, how he got to this point. When did a talentless student become the most hopeful person he’s ever met? Maybe he’d always been that way, even from the moment they first met. Maybe it was when he first saw hajime laugh, or when he first implied that they could be friends, or perhaps it was when he stopped showing up at game night. People do say that you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.

Regardless, he doesn’t regret setting fire to his own school. It was all worth it to see his friends happy, to make those horrible, despair ridden people, suffer and to see hajime’s handsome face glow in the light of the flames.

What a fitting conclusion to this era of uncertainty and grief.

He wonders what hope tomorrow will bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just curious if any of you would be interested in a sequel? I'm thinking of writing a fluffy sequel to this that's practically a komahina rom com with a side plot of hajime and izuru trying to live normal lives. If yes, is there anything specific you'd want to see? I haven't planned it out yet, so i'm up for suggestions.
> 
> Anyway, sequel stuff aside, I've had a wonderful time writing this fic and I truly appreciate all my commentors, subscribers and people who bookmarked this, you've all helped me boost my motivation! So thank you!


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